1er octobre 1963
31 décembre 1992
Union de transports aériens (France ; 1963-1992)
23 février 1963 : décision ministérielle répartissant le réseau africain entre l’Union de transports aériens (UTA) et Air France
9 août 1963 : convention de fusion de l’Union aéromaritime de transport (UAT) et des Transports aériens intercontinentaux (TAI)
29 octobre 1963 : agrément de transports aériens de sept ans
12 janvier 1990 : rachat par Air France de l’Union de transports aériens (UTA)
29 décembre 1992 : décision du conseil d’administration d’Air France de fusionner les deux compagnies
A sa création en 1963, la compagnie s’organisait autour d’un président et de son directeur général, épaulés par des directeurs : administratif et financier, commercial, exploitation, industriel, personnel navigant, technique et développement.
Par la suite, l’organisation interne se structure, toujours autour d’un président et d’un directeur général, en un ensemble de directions qui évoluent peu : affaires sociales, finances, opérations et exploitation, relations extérieures, programmes et planification, UTA industries, fret et poste, Europe Afrique, Moyen-Orient Extrême-Orient Pacifique
Statut juridique
Société anonyme à participation ouvrière (SAPO)
Fonctions et activités
La compagnie aérienne se chargeait du transport de passagers et de fret vers l’Afrique, l’Asie et le Pacifique. UTA Industries gérait la maintenance des avions de la compagnie ainsi que de ceux de sa filiale Air Afrique.
L’Union de transports aériens apparaît dans un contexte de développement des compagnies privées en France. L’Etat accordait sans distinction des agréments à toutes sortes de nouvelles compagnies à la fin des années 1940, mais la multiplication des compagnies rend le secteur saturé, et nombreuses sont celles qui abandonnent. La compagnie des Transports aériens intercontinentaux (TAI) et l’Union aéromaritime de transport (UAT) décident dans ce contexte de fusionner.
Pourtant, l’Etat, même s’il accorde des agréments à UTA ainsi que notamment à Air Inter (compagnie privée sur le réseau domestique), continue à privilégier Air France, la compagnie nationale. Il organise la répartition des lignes de manière à éviter toute concurrence, et maintient à Air France les lignes internationales majeures : Europe, Maghreb, Dakar (ligne historique de la compagnie), et Amérique notamment.
Le développement aérien français est donc contrôlé par l’Etat, mais également soumis au contexte politique et économique. Les Trente Glorieuses s’arrêtent brutalement avec le choc pétrolier de 1973 qui touche de plein fouet les compagnies aériennes, grosses consommatrices de kérosène. La décolonisation et notamment la situation en Algérie et en Indochine (puis au Vietnam) perturbent voire stoppent certaines dessertes historiques. En Afrique, la situation économique et politique des Etats entraîne une diminution des investissements, et dans certains cas une certaine insécurité (par exemple pour UTA l’attentat de N’Djamena au Tchad en 1984 et l’explosion en vol de l’UT 772 en 1989 au Niger voisin).
La reprise intervient à la fin des années 1980, mais la vente d’UTA à Air France, qui prend par la même occasion le contrôle d’Air Inter (dont UTA était également actionnaire) chamboule le paysage aérien français : fin 1992, la France ne dispose plus que d’une seule compagnie, publique, pour exploiter un immense réseau aérien.
A la fin de la Seconde guerre mondiale, de nombreuses compagnies aériennes privées voient le jour, la plupart ne survivant néanmoins pas plus de quelques mois, voire moins. Dans cette cacophonie aéronautique aux côtés d’Air France, la compagnie nationale publique, deux noms se distinguent : la TAI, Transports aériens intercontinentaux, et l’UAT, Union aéromaritime de transport. La première est créée le 11 mai 1946 sous la forme d’une société anonyme à participation ouvrière (SAPO), et la seconde apparaît le 13 octobre 1949. Le 5 octobre 1955, les trois grandes compagnies françaises signent un protocole divisant le réseau aérien national : la TAI se concentre alors vers l’Indochine, l’Océanie et Madagascar, alors que l’UAT agit en Afrique subsaharienne.
Les deux compagnies se rapprochent et finalement décident de fusionner en 1963, sous le statut de SAPO hérité de la TAI. C’est la naissance de l’Union de transports aériens (UTA). Cette nouvelle compagnie, centrée sur l’aéroport du Bourget (en attendant l’ouverture du nouvel aéroport à Roissy en 1974), reçoit en parallèle un agrément de transports aériens (le 29 octobre 1963) qui lui permet l’exploitation des lignes d’Afrique (à l’exception du Maghreb et de Dakar, restés à Air France) et de l’Asie du Sud-Est jusqu’au Pacifique, qui constituaient les réseaux de la TAI et de l’UAT.
La compagnie se pose comme le seul concurrent privé français d’Air France à l’international. Portée successivement par Georges Fayet (1963-1969), Francis Fabre (1969-1981) et René Lapautre (1981-1990), les trois présidents d’UTA, elle se développe tant au niveau du transport de passagers qu’au niveau du fret, et dispose d’une flotte conséquente de DC 8, de DC 10 (à partir de 1973) et de Boeing 747 (à partir de 1978). Cette flotte est entretenue en interne par UTA Industries, émanation de la direction industrielle de la compagnie.
Cependant, UTA n’est pas épargnée par le choc pétrolier de 1973 ni par la crise qui s’ensuit. Plus encore, au début des années 1980 le trafic passager diminue pour la première fois depuis la fusion. Le réseau africain est particulièrement touché par la conjoncture économique, alors que de l’autre côté le réseau Asie-Pacifique souffre de problèmes structurels : l’expansion est donc limitée sur tout le réseau de la compagnie. L’ouverture vers l’Amérique à travers une liaison Paris-Papeete-San Francisco et une desserte des Antilles permet à UTA de continuer à se développer, mais l’Etat lui refuse toute ouverture de ligne Paris-New York (seules quelques lignes province-New York sont accordées) et surtout vers l’Europe. En effet, Air France exploite déjà ces lignes et le gouvernement refuse de doubler ces réseaux en autorisant une seconde compagnie française à les utiliser.
A la fin des années 1980, UTA a repris sa croissance malgré tout, mais en 1989 Jérôme Seydoux, actionnaire majoritaire d’UTA depuis 1980, entreprend de vendre ses parts. Il entre en négociations avec Bernard Attali, alors président de la rivale Air France, et lui cède pour 7 milliards de francs la compagnie. L’annonce est officialisée le 12 janvier 1990, mais UTA continue à fonctionner sous son pavillon jusqu’à la fusion totale, le 31 décembre 1992.
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