Union de Transports Aériens (abbreviated as UTA and sometimes known as UTA French Airlines), was a French airline that was formed in 1963 as a result of a merger between

Union Aéromaritime de Transport ''Union Aéromaritime de Transport'' (UAT) was a French airline. It had its head office in the 8th arrondissement of Paris.Transports Aériens Intercontinentaux Transports Aériens Intercontinentaux was a private French airline, based at Orly Airport, Paris. In 1963, it was merged with Union Aéromaritime de Transport on 1 October 1963 to form UTA French Airlines. Operations In the early 1950s its ...

(TAI). UTA was the largest wholly privately owned, independentindependent from

government-owned corporation A state-owned enterprise (SOE) is a government entity which is established or nationalised by the ''national government'' or ''provincial government'' by an executive order or an act of legislation in order to earn profit for the governmen ...

s airline in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. It was also the second-largest international, as well as the second principal intercontinental,

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

airlineafter

Air France Air France (; formally ''Société Air France, S.A.''), stylised as AIRFRANCE, is the flag carrier of France headquartered in Tremblay-en-France. It is a subsidiary of the Air France–KLM Group and a founding member of the SkyTeam global a ...

and a full member of the

International Air Transport Association The International Air Transport Association (IATA ) is a trade association of the world's airlines founded in 1945. IATA has been described as a cartel since, in addition to setting technical standards for airlines, IATA also organized tariff ...

(IATA) since its inception. The airline was a subsidiary of Compagnie Maritime des Chargeurs Réunis,''France's independent flag carrier'', Air Transport, Flight International, 24 June 1971, p. 945
/ref> the French

shipping line A shipping line or shipping company is a company whose line of business is ownership and operation of ships. Shipping companies provide a method of distinguishing ships by different kinds of cargo: # Bulk cargo is a type of special cargo that i ...

founded and controlled by the Fabre family, but was absorbed into

between 1990 and 1992.''UTA take-over makes Air France Europe's second-favourite airline'', Operations: Air Transport, Flight International, 24-30 January 1990, p. 10
/ref>
/ref> ttp://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1991/1991%20-%202546.html ''Air France plans UTA break down'', Headlines, Flight International, 2-8 October 1991, p. 4/ref>

History

The decision to merge

Union Aéromaritime de Transport ''Union Aéromaritime de Transport'' (UAT) was a French airline. It had its head office in the 8th arrondissement of Paris.Paris Le Bourget with

Transports Aériens Intercontinentaux Transports Aériens Intercontinentaux was a private French airline, based at Orly Airport, Paris. In 1963, it was merged with Union Aéromaritime de Transport on 1 October 1963 to form UTA French Airlines. Operations In the early 1950s its ...

(TAI)based at

Paris Orly Paris Orly Airport (french: Aéroport de Paris-Orly), commonly referred to as Orly , is one of two international airports serving the French capital, Paris, the other one being Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG). It is located partially in Orly ...

was taken in September 1961, building on a commercial relationship between the two airlines that had begun in the early 1950s. UTA, the new company that succeeded UAT and TAI, came into being on 1 October 1963 with a capital of £2.6 mn.

Formation and early years

At the time of its inception, UTA employed 4,900 personnel (including 630

aircrew Aircrew, also called flight crew, are personnel who operate an aircraft while in flight. The composition of a flight's crew depends on the type of aircraft, plus the flight's duration and purpose. Commercial aviation Flight deck positions ...

)''Airliner Classics (1960s: French Long-Haul Merger)'', Key Publishing, Stamford, UK, November 2011, p. 9 and inherited a fleet of 35 aircraft from its predecessors, comprising six

jet aircraft A jet aircraft (or simply jet) is an aircraft (nearly always a fixed-wing aircraft) propelled by jet engines. Whereas the engines in propeller-powered aircraft generally achieve their maximum efficiency at much lower speeds and altitudes, jet ...

and 29

piston engine A reciprocating engine, also often known as a piston engine, is typically a heat engine that uses one or more reciprocating pistons to convert high temperature and high pressure into a rotating motion. This article describes the common feat ...

airliners. These were progressively repainted in UTA's new

livery A livery is an identifying design, such as a uniform, ornament, symbol or insignia that designates ownership or affiliation, often found on an individual or vehicle. Livery will often have elements of the heraldry relating to the individual or ...

, a combination of UAT's blue and TAI's green colour schemes. The inherited network spanned five continents. Most of these were intercontinental, long-haul routes connecting France with

West West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...

and

Southern Africa Southern Africa is the southernmost subregion of the African continent, south of the Congo and Tanzania. The physical location is the large part of Africa to the south of the extensive Congo River basin. Southern Africa is home to a number o ...

. On 1 November 1963 UTA introduced DC-8 jets on its flights from Paris to

Lagos Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national capital of Nigeria until December 1991 fo ...

Accra Accra (; tw, Nkran; dag, Ankara; gaa, Ga or ''Gaga'') is the capital and largest city of Ghana, located on the southern coast at the Gulf of Guinea, which is part of the Atlantic Ocean. As of 2021 census, the Accra Metropolitan District, , ...

Monrovia Monrovia () is the capital city of the West African country of Liberia. Founded in 1822, it is located on Cape Mesurado on the Atlantic coast and as of the 2008 census had 1,010,970 residents, home to 29% of Liberia’s total population. As t ...

and

Freetown Freetown is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Sierra Leone. It is a major port city on the Atlantic Ocean and is located in the Western Area of the country. Freetown is Sierra Leone's major urban, economic, financial, cultural, educ ...

. UTA's creation coincided with a new French aviation policy that established exclusive spheres of influence for UTA and Air France. Air France withdrew from UTA's sphere of influence but UTA continued serving the

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

n routes it inherited from UAT in association with Air Afrique. This included UTA taking the place of UAT in the joint

revenue In accounting, revenue is the total amount of income generated by the sale of goods and services related to the primary operations of the business. Commercial revenue may also be referred to as sales or as turnover. Some companies receive rev ...

sharing agreement with Air Afrique. In addition, UTA continued providing commercial and technical assistance to Air Afrique on the same terms as UAT. UTA had the largest

n network of any European airline, flying to up to 25 destinations. Its busiest scheduled route was Paris—

Abidjan Abidjan ( , ; N’ko: ߊߓߌߖߊ߲߬) is the economic capital of the Ivory Coast. As of the 2021 census, Abidjan's population was 6.3 million, which is 21.5 percent of overall population of the country, making it the sixth most populous city p ...

, served daily in both directions. UTA primarily operated long-haul intercontinental scheduled services linking

metropolitan France Metropolitan France (french: France métropolitaine or ''la Métropole''), also known as European France (french: Territoire européen de la France) is the area of France which is geographically in Europe. This collective name for the European ...

with most countries in francophone West and

Central Africa Central Africa is a subregion of the African continent comprising various countries according to different definitions. Angola, Burundi, the Central African Republic, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Republic of the Co ...

, a number of countries in

anglophone Speakers of English are also known as Anglophones, and the countries where English is natively spoken by the majority of the population are termed the ''Anglosphere''. Over two billion people speak English , making English the largest language ...

West and Southern Africa (including

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and Tog ...

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

Liberia Liberia (), officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to Guinea–Liberia border, its north, Ivory Coast to Ivory Coast� ...

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierr ...

Malawi Malawi (; or aláwi Tumbuka: ''Malaŵi''), officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northe ...

Zambia Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most central point. Its neighbours are t ...

and

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and ...

), as well as

Angola , national_anthem = "Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordinat ...

and

Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...

lusophone Lusophones ( pt, Lusófonos) are peoples that speak Portuguese as a native or as common second language and nations where Portuguese features prominently in society. Comprising an estimated 270 million people spread across 10 sovereign countries ...

Southern Africa,

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring coun ...

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Suda ...

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

, the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

(

Bahrain Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and a ...

and

Oman Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and spans the mouth of ...

South Asia South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The region consists of the countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.;;;;; ...

(Sri Lanka),

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainland ...

(

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Gui ...

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federal constitutional monarchy consists of thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two regions: Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo's East Mal ...

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

New Caledonia ) , anthem = "" , image_map = New Caledonia on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg , map_alt = Location of New Caledonia , map_caption = Location of New Caledonia , mapsize = 290px , subdivision_type = Sovereign st ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island coun ...

Tahiti Tahiti (; Tahitian ; ; previously also known as Otaheite) is the largest island of the Windward group of the Society Islands in French Polynesia. It is located in the central part of the Pacific Ocean and the nearest major landmass is Austra ...

and

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

.via the

Asia-Pacific Asia-Pacific (APAC) is the part of the world near the western Pacific Ocean. The Asia-Pacific region varies in area depending on context, but it generally includes East Asia, Russian Far East, South Asia, Southeast Asia, Australia and Paci ...

route only In addition, the airline had regional scheduled passenger traffic rights between

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...

, New Caledonia and New Zealand, between South Africa and the French

Réunion Réunion (; french: La Réunion, ; previously ''Île Bourbon''; rcf, label= Reunionese Creole, La Rényon) is an island in the Indian Ocean that is an overseas department and region of France. It is located approximately east of the island o ...

island in the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by ...

, as well as between Tahiti and the

US West Coast The West Coast of the United States, also known as the Pacific Coast, Pacific states, and the western seaboard, is the coastline along which the Western United States meets the North Pacific Ocean. The term typically refers to the contiguous U.S ...

. Through most of its existence UTA was one of only four wholly privately owned, independent airlines outside of the US with a major, long-haul scheduled presence.

British United Airways British United Airways (BUA) was a private, independentindependent from government-owned corporations British airline formed as a result of the merger of Airwork Services and Hunting-Clan Air Transport in July 1960, making it the largest whol ...

(BUA)/ British Caledonian (BCal), Canadian Pacific Airlines (CP Air)/ Canadian Airlines International and

Cathay Pacific Cathay Pacific Airways Limited (CPA), more widely known as Cathay Pacific (), is the flag carrier of Hong Kong, with its head office and main hub located at Hong Kong International Airport. The airline's operations and subsidiaries have ...

were the other three contemporary non-US independent, long-haul scheduled carriers Unlike its

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

and

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a List of cities in China, city and Special administrative regions of China, special ...

independent contemporaries, for most of its existence UTA did not have a network of short-/medium-haul scheduled routes nor did it compete on any of its scheduled routes with Air France, the primary French

flag carrier A flag carrier is a transport company, such as an airline or shipping company, that, being locally registered in a given sovereign state, enjoys preferential rights or privileges accorded by the government for international operations. Hi ...

at the time. This made it an almost exclusively long-haul, intercontinental scheduled airline. It also made its scheduled route network complementary to Air France and Air Inter. (UTA and Air France used to co-ordinate their schedules at Los Angeles to enable passengers to connect between Air France's transatlantic and UTA's transpacific services.)

UTA during the 1980s

In 1986 the

French government The Government of France ( French: ''Gouvernement français''), officially the Government of the French Republic (''Gouvernement de la République française'' ), exercises executive power in France. It is composed of the Prime Minister, who ...

unexpectedly decided to relax its policy of neatly dividing traffic rights for scheduled air services between Air France, Air Inter and UTA, without any route overlaps between them. The regulatory framework governing France's

air transport Aviation includes the activities surrounding mechanical flight and the aircraft industry. ''Aircraft'' includes fixed-wing and rotary-wing types, morphable wings, wing-less lifting bodies, as well as lighter-than-air craft such as hot air ...

sector at the time dated from 1963. It had prevented the country's three main scheduled airlines from operating outside their respective spheres of influence and competing with each other. The French government's decision to adopt a less rigid interpretation of its policy gradually reversed both of these rules. It therefore enabled UTA to launch scheduled services to new destinations within Air France's sphere of influence, in competition with that airline, for the first time. Paris —

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17t ...

became the first route UTA served in competition with Air France non-stop from Paris. (Air France responded by extending some of its non-stop Paris – Los Angeles services to

Papeete Papeete ( Tahitian: ''Papeete'', pronounced ) is the capital city of French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of the French Republic in the Pacific Ocean. The commune of Papeete is located on the island of Tahiti, in the administrative subd ...

, Tahiti, which competed with UTA on the Los Angeles – Papeete sector.) UTA's ability to secure traffic rights outside its traditional sphere of influence in competition with Air France was the result of a successful campaign it had mounted to

lobby Lobby may refer to: * Lobby (room), an entranceway or foyer in a building * Lobbying, the action or the group used to influence a viewpoint to politicians :* Lobbying in the United States, specific to the United States * Lobby (food), a thick st ...

its government to enable it to grow faster, thereby becoming a more dynamic and more profitable

business Business is the practice of making one's living or making money by producing or buying and selling products (such as goods and services). It is also "any activity or enterprise entered into for profit." Having a business name does not separ ...

. During that time, UTA also planned to launch a short-haul European feeder network,''AF and UTA battle for Air Inter'', Air Transport, Flight International, 31 October 1987, p. 7
/ref>
/ref> which was to be operated by its Aéromaritime subsidiary. In the event, these plans were scuppered by a long-running, bitter

industrial dispute Strike action, also called labor strike, labour strike, or simply strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to work. A strike usually takes place in response to employee grievances. Strikes became common during the In ...

between UTA's management and the unions representing the majority of pilots at Aéromaritime as well as at UTA itself. The dispute was about the introduction of new, lower pay scales at Aéromaritime to prepare it for the competition it was likely to face at the hands of Europe's new breed of much lower

cost In production, research, retail, and accounting, a cost is the value of money that has been used up to produce something or deliver a service, and hence is not available for use anymore. In business, the cost may be one of acquisition, in whic ...

, aggressively expanding independent airlines, as exemplified by UK-based Air Europe at that time. It lasted for the better part of a year from the end of 1988 until October 1989 and resulted in the grounding of both Aéromaritime and UTA during that period. UTA's plans for a European feeder network were also overtaken by its subsequent

merger Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are business transactions in which the ownership of companies, other business organizations, or their operating units are transferred to or consolidated with another company or business organization. As an aspec ...

with Air France.''UTA struggles for expansion'', Flight International, 21 May 1988, p. 20
/ref>
/ref> 1986 was also the year UTA lost its

monopoly A monopoly (from Greek language, Greek el, μόνος, mónos, single, alone, label=none and el, πωλεῖν, pōleîn, to sell, label=none), as described by Irving Fisher, is a market with the "absence of competition", creating a situati ...

on the Paris—Papeete route to Minerve, France's leading contemporary

charter airline Air charter is the business of renting an entire aircraft (i.e., chartering) as opposed to individual aircraft seats (i.e., purchasing a ticket through a traditional airline). Regulation Charter – also called air taxi or ad hoc – flights ...

. In 1988 French Transport Minister

Michel Delebarre Michel Delebarre (27 April 1946 – 9 April 2022) was a French politician who was a member of the Senate of France. He represented the Nord department, and was a member of the Socialiste, radical, citoyen et divers gauche. He was also mayor o ...

partially reversed the French government's relaxed policy on allocating traffic rights to the country's three main contemporary scheduled airlines when he decided to deny UTA the right to fly non-stop from Paris to Newark in direct competition with Air France.''UTA take-over makes Air France Europe's second-favourite airline'', Operations: Air Transport, Flight International, 24-30 January 1990, p. 11
/ref> The aim was to protect Air France's position as the country's dominant scheduled carrier by making UTA a less attractive takeover target for its foreign rivals in the event of a merger. The French government feared that Air France's smaller size relative to

British Airways British Airways (BA) is the flag carrier airline of the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in London, England, near its main hub at Heathrow Airport. The airline is the second largest UK-based carrier, based on fleet size and passengers ...

Lufthansa Deutsche Lufthansa AG (), commonly shortened to Lufthansa, is the flag carrier of Germany. When combined with its subsidiaries, it is the second- largest airline in Europe in terms of passengers carried. Lufthansa is one of the five founding ...

and the US giants as well as its fragmented long-haul network put it at a commercial disadvantage in a

liberalise Liberalization or liberalisation (British English) is a broad term that refers to the practice of making laws, systems, or opinions less severe, usually in the sense of eliminating certain government regulations or restrictions. The term is used m ...

d air transport market. Air France, Air Inter and UTA were therefore encouraged to co-operate rather than compete with each other. On 12 January 1990 UTA, along with Air Inter and Air France itself, became part of an enlarged Air France group, which in turn became a wholly owned subsidiary of Groupe Air France.The New York Times, 13 January 1990, Business - Air France Buying Into 2 Carriers
/ref> On 18 December 1992, UTA ceased to exist as a legal entity within Groupe Air France. Air France's acquisition of UTA and Air Inter was part of an early 1990s French government plan to create a unified national carrier with the

economies of scale In microeconomics, economies of scale are the cost advantages that enterprises obtain due to their scale of operation, and are typically measured by the amount of output produced per unit of time. A decrease in cost per unit of output enables ...

and global reach to counter threats resulting from the

liberalisation Liberalization or liberalisation (British English) is a broad term that refers to the practice of making laws, systems, or opinions less severe, usually in the sense of eliminating certain government regulations or restrictions. The term is used m ...

of the air transport market in the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are located primarily in Europe, Europe. The union has a total area of ...

(EU).

Corporate affairs

UTA's

corporate A corporation is an organization—usually a group of people or a company—authorized by the state to act as a single entity (a legal entity recognized by private and public law "born out of statute"; a legal person in legal context) and r ...

head office was located in the 8th arrondissement of

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

.''World Airline Directory'', Flight International, 29 March 1986, p. 135
"Head Office: 3 Boulevard Malesherbes, F-75008, Paris, France." The head office of the Compagnie Aéromaritime d'Affrètement subsidiary was in

Puteaux Puteaux () is a commune in the western suburbs of Paris, France. It is located in the heart of the Hauts-de-Seine department, from the centre of Paris. In 2016, it had a population of 44,941. La Défense, Paris's business district hosting th ...

in Greater Paris.

Fleet

UTA and Air Afrique planes at Paris CDG 1991 cropped

UTA and its subsidiaries operated the following aircraft types and sub-types throughout its 29-year existence: * Beech 18 *

Douglas DC-4 The Douglas DC-4 is an American four-engined (piston), propeller-driven airliner developed by the Douglas Aircraft Company. Military versions of the plane, the C-54 and R5D, served during World War II, in the Berlin Airlift and into the 1960 ...

Douglas DC-6 The Douglas DC-6 is a piston-powered airliner and cargo aircraft built by the Douglas Aircraft Company from 1946 to 1958. Originally intended as a military transport near the end of World War II, it was reworked after the war to compete with t ...

Douglas DC-7 The Douglas DC-7 is an American transport aircraft built by the Douglas Aircraft Company from 1953 to 1958. A derivative of the DC-6, it was the last major piston engine-powered transport made by Douglas, being developed shortly after the earl ...

Fokker F27 Friendship The Fokker F27 Friendship is a turboprop airliner developed and manufactured by the Dutch aircraft manufacturer Fokker. It is the most numerous post-war aircraft manufactured in the Netherlands; the F27 was also one of the most successful Eur ...

* Sud-Aviation SE-210 Caravelle 10R * Boeing 737-200 * Douglas DC-8, Douglas DC-8-30/50 series * Douglas DC-8#Super Sixty Series, Douglas DC-8-62/63 "Super Sixty" series * McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30 * Boeing 747-200 * Boeing 747-300 * Boeing 747-400 Throughout most of this time, UTA's "mainline" fleet strength stood at about ten to twelve aircraft only. The airline's small fleet size was conditioned by the nature of its operations, i.e. as a long-haul carrier serving most of its routes as multi-stop sectors at low frequencies of less than one flight per day. 1965 marked the beginning of a re-engining programme that saw UTA's fleet of six Douglas DC-8#Series 30, DC-8 series 30 turbojets gradually converted to Douglas DC-8#Series 50, series 50 turbofan standard.''Aeroplane – Airline of the Month: UTA – Five-star independent'', Vol. 109, No. 2798, p. 4, Temple Press, London, 3 June 1965 In order to facilitate the smooth introduction of the McDonnell Douglas DC-10, DC-10 into its fleet, UTA joined the KSSUeach letter in the KSSU consortium's name represented the first letter of each of its members' names, in alphabetical order aircraft maintenance consortium, whose founding members were KLM, Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) and Swissair. In August 1981, UTA became the second customer to order the Boeing 747-300.after launch customer Swissair It took delivery of the first aircraft to roll off Boeing's assembly line, production line on 2 March 1983. The airline also had two 747-200, Boeing 747-200s converted to 747-200, 747-200 SUDs,SUD stood for stretched upper deck''UTA streamlines fleet'', Air Transport, Flight International, 3 August 1985, p. 7
/ref> thereby joining a select group of only two airlines that chose to have some of their 747-200s re-manufactured in this manner with the other air carrier being KLM.KLM was the other airline in this group that had ten of their 747-200s converted to 747-200, -200 SUDs, respectively. The earlier tidbit of misinformation in this reference stated Japan Air Lines remanufactured two -200s. This is in error. They purchased two factory-new 747SR-146B(SUD)aircraft from Boeing. JA8170 was delivered in March 1986 and JA8176 was delivered in September 1986. UTA placed its first-ever order for Airbus aircraft in 1987. The order was for six four-engined Airbus A340-300 long-haul wide-body, widebodied jet aircraft, jets. It included an option on a further six aircraft. The aircraft on firm order were to be delivered between 1992 and 1994, at a rate of two planes per year. It was intended that the newly ordered Airbus A340, A340s would replace the airline's ageing DC-10s as well as facilitate its future expansion into new long-haul markets from the early 1990s onwards. In 1989, UTA also ordered Boeing's twin-engined Boeing 767, 767 widebody on behalf of Aéromaritime. That order had a value of US dollar, US$250mn. It was for three -767-300ER, 300ER aircraft. Air France's acquisition of UTA in 1990 resulted in it inheriting two of Aéromaritime's three 767-300ERs,in addition to three of that carrier's subsequently acquired B-767-200ER, 767-200s thereby itself becoming a 767 operator by default.

Fleet in 1970

Fleet in 1978

UTA also had one Boeing 747-200 on order at this time. The Fokker F-27 Friendship, Fokker Friendships and Boeing 737 were based out of La Tontouta International Airport, La Tontouta Airport, New Caledonia and used on local Pacific Ocean, Pacific services. In addition, UTA's then subsidiary company Air Polynésie, based at Faa'a International Airport, Tahiti, had a fleet of three Fokker F-27, Fairchild F-27A Friendships, one Britten-Norman Islander, one de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter, de Havilland Canada Twin Otter series 200, and one de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter#Specifications, de Havilland Twin Otter series 300. (Source for the above fleet notes: UTA General Timetable 1/4/78 - 31/10/78)

Fleet in 1986

UTA employed 6,569 people at this time.

Destinations

Union de Transports Aériens served the following destinations when it operated:

Europe

**Bordeaux (Bordeaux–Mérignac Airport) **Montpellier (Montpellier–Méditerranée Airport) **Lyon (Lyon–Saint-Exupéry Airport) **Marseille (Marseille Provence Airport) **Montpellier (Montpellier–Méditerranée Airport) **Nantes (Nantes Atlantique Airport) **Nice (Nice Côte d'Azur Airport) **

(Charles de Gaulle Airport) **

(Orly Airport) **Toulouse (Toulouse–Blagnac Airport) *

(Malta International Airport)

Africa

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**Luanda (Quatro de Fevereiro International Airport) *Benin **Cotonou (Cadjehoun Airport) *Botswana **Gaborone (Sir Seretse Khama International Airport) *Burkina Faso **Ouagadougou (Ouagadougou Airport) *Cameroon **Douala (Douala International Airport) *Central African Republic **Bangui (Bangui M'Poko International Airport) *Chad **N'Djamena (N'Djamena International Airport) *Republic of the Congo, Congo **Brazzaville (Maya-Maya Airport) *Côte d'Ivoire **

(Port Bouet Airport) *Gabon **Libreville (Libreville International Airport) *Guinea **Conakry (Conakry International Airport) *

(Roberts International Airport) *

**Lilongwe (Kamuzu International Airport) *Mali **Bamako (Bamako–Senou International Airport) *Mauritania **Nouakchott (Nouakchott International Airport) *

**Maputo (Maputo International Airport) *Namibia **Windhoek (Windhoek International Airport) *Niger **Niamey (Diori Hamani International Airport) *

(Murtala Muhammed International Airport) *

(Lungi International Airport) *South Africa **Johannesburg (O. R. Tambo International Airport, Jan Smuts International Airport) *Togo **Lomé (Lomé–Tokoin Airport) *Zaïre **Kinshasa (N'djili International Airport) *

**Lusaka (Lusaka International Airport) *

**Harare (Harare International Airport)

Asia

(Bahrain International Airport) *British Hong Kong **

(Kai Tak Airport) *

**Jakarta (Soekarno–Hatta International Airport) *

**Tokyo (Narita International Airport) *

**Kuala Lumpur (Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport, Subang International Airport) *

**Muscat, Oman, Muscat (Muscat International Airport) *Pakistan **Karachi (Jinnah International Airport) *

(Changi Airport) *Sri Lanka **Colombo (Bandaranaike International Airport)

Oceania

**Sydney (Sydney Airport) *French Polynesia **

(Faa'a International Airport) *

**Nouméa (La Tontouta International Airport) *

**Auckland (Auckland Airport)

North America

*United States **

(Los Angeles International Airport) **New Jersey (Newark Liberty International Airport) **

(San Francisco International Airport)

Incidents and accidents

There were six recorded incidents/accidents involving UTA aircraft. Four of these involved the loss of aircraft and three the loss of lives. * On 2 October 1964, a UTA Douglas DC-6#Operational history, Douglas DC-6B inherited from predecessor UAT (registration F-BHMS) crashed into Mt. Alcazaba near Granada, Andalusia, in Spain, Southern Spain. The doomed aircraft was operating the airline's scheduled sector from Palma de Mallorca, Balearic Islands, Spain, to Nouadhibou, Port Étienne (as Nouadhibou was known then), Mauritania. There were no survivors among the aircraft's 80 occupants (seven crew and 73 passengers). * On 12 July 1972, a scheduled UTA flight en route from Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, to Paris was taken over by Aircraft hijacking, hijackers. There were two fatalities as a result of this incident. * On 10 March 1984, a UTA Douglas DC-8#Super Sixty Series, DC-8-63PF (registration F-BOLL) flying from Brazzaville, Republic of Congo to Paris CDG with an intermediate stop at N'Djamena in Chad was destroyed, following two consecutive bomb explosions on board the aircraft while it was on the ground at N'Djamena Airport. There were no fatalities since all passengers and crew managed to evacuate the aircraft before the second explosion in the central baggage compartment tore the aircraft apart.''UTA DC-10 "mid-air explosion" investigated'', Operations: Safety, Flight International, 30 September 1989, p. 10
/ref> * On 16 March 1985, a UTA 747-300B, Boeing 747-3B3 (registration F-GDUA) was destroyed on the ground at Paris CDG when a fire was accidentally started while cleaning of the aircraft's cabin was in progress. (According to contemporary news media, press reports, the fire was allegedly started by a cleaner who carelessly dropped a burning cigarette in one of the toilets.) The fire rapidly spread, engulfing the entire cabin in flames. This resulted in the aircraft's total destruction, which was subsequently written off. There were no injuries as a result of this incident. * On 19 September 1989, UTA Flight 772, UTA flight 772, a McDonnell Douglas DC-10#Longer-range variants, McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30 (registration N54629) operating the Brazzaville – N'Djamena – Paris CDG sector, was bombed 46 minutes after take-off from N'Djamena causing the aircraft to crash while flying over Niger. Investigations and court cases have implicated Libyan state actors in the bombing. All 156 passengers and 14 crew members on board perished.McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30 N54629 (accident report)
/ref> For nearly 20 years, this incident marked the deadliest air disaster involving a French-operated airliner, in terms of loss of life. As of June 2009, it ranks as the second-deadliest (see Air France Flight 447, Air France flight 447) (This incident was briefly noted in Neil Peart's book ''The Masked Rider: Cycling in West Africa'' as he was on this flight just months prior.)

Notes and citations

;Notes ;Citations

References

* * (various backdated issues relating to UTA, 1963–1990) * (various backdated issues relating to UTA scheduled flight information, 1963–1990)

External links

* UTA – Defunct French airlines https://web.archive.org/web/20130327113642/http://www.uta-airlines.com/ * UTA – In Memoriam http://www.al-airliners.be/t-z/uta/uta.htm * Aéromaritime (Compagnie Aéromaritime d'Affrètement) — In Memoriam http://www.al-airliners.be/a/aeromaritime/aeromaritime.htm * France's independent flag carrier, ''Flight International'', 24 June 1971, p. 945 http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1971/1971%20-%201062.html * France's independent flag carrier ..., ''Flight International'', 24 June 1971, p. 946 http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1971/1971%20-%201063.html * France's independent flag carrier ..., ''Flight International'', 24 June 1971, p. 947 http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1971/1971%20-%201064.html * Union de Transports Aériens (UTA) at the Aviation Safety Network Database http://aviation-safety.net/database/operator/airline.php?var=4692 * Union de Transports Aériens (UTA) timetable images http://www.timetableimages.com/ttimages/ut2.htm * UTA French airlines uniforms 1987–1992 http://www.uniformfreak.com/1uta.html * BBC news, 19 September 2003 - UTA 772: The forgotten flight (19 September 1989) http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/3163621.stm * The New York Times, 18 June 1987, COMPANY NEWS – Order for Airbus https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B0DE2DB1E3BF93BA25755C0A961948260 * The New York Times, 19 January 1989, BRIEFS https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=950DEFDF1F3DF93AA25752C0A96F948260 * M.R. Golder, The Changing Nature of French Dirigisme – A Case Study of Air France, St. Edmund Hall, Oxford. Thesis, submitted Trinity term, 1997 http://homepages.nyu.edu/~mrg217/MA.pdf * FT.com/Business Life, The Monday Interview, 30 September 2007 – Pilot who found the right trajectory (Financial Times interview with Jean-Cyril Spinetta, chairman of Air France-KLM group) http://www.ft.com/cms/s/e6c07ce8-6de8-11dc-b8ab-0000779fd2ac,Authorised=false.html?_i_location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ft.com%2Fcms%2Fs%2Fe6c07ce8-6de8-11dc-b8ab-0000779fd2ac.html&_i_referer=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.co.uk%2Fsearch%3Fhl%3Den * FOTW Flags of the World – Chargeurs Réunis (Shipping company, France) http://fotw.fivestarflags.com/fr~hfcha.html * Answers.com (Business and Finance) — Chargeurs International http://www.answers.com/topic/chargeurs-international?cat=biz-fin * Air France (Airline, France) https://web.archive.org/web/20110629173337/https://www.fotw.info/flags/fr%24hfair.html {{DEFAULTSORT:Union De Transports Aeriens Union de Transports Aériens, Defunct airlines of France Airlines established in 1963 Airlines disestablished in 1992 French companies established in 1963 Companies based in Paris French companies disestablished in 1992