Title :
ReserVec: Trans-Canada Air Lines´ computerized reservation system
Author_Institution :
Dept. of Comput. Sci., Calgary Univ., Alta., Canada
Abstract :
The rapid growth of the airline industry in the immediate post-World War II years overwhelmed the manual reservation systems in use at that time. Trans-Canada Air Lines addressed this problem by developing ReserVec, a very early computerized airline reservation system that was designed and manufactured in Canada. ReserVec, unlike previous automated reservation systems, was fully programmable and ran on a general-purpose computer. The technology acquired from the development of ReserVec´s Gemini computer was used first in the development of the Ferranti-Packard FP-6000 multiprogrammable computer (also developed in Canada) and then in the ICL 1900/2900 series of compatible computers. The article presents Trans-Canada Air Line´s ReserVec system in the context of other automated airline reservation systems contemporary to ReserVec, including American Airline´s Magnetronic Reservisor and SABRE systems.<>
Keywords :
commerce; general purpose computers; history; reservation computer systems; travel industry; American Airlines Magnetronic Reservisor; Ferranti-Packard FP-6000 multiprogrammable computer; Gemini computer; ReserVec; SABRE systems; Trans-Canada Air Lines; airline industry; automated reservation systems; computerized reservation system; early computerized airline reservation system; fully programmable; general-purpose computer; Computer aided manufacturing; Computer industry; Displays; Leg; Magnetic separation; Manuals; Military computing; Radio access networks; Telephony; Teleprinting;
Journal_Title :
Annals of the History of Computing, IEEE
