: ''For the U.S.-based cargo airline which operated from 1966 to 1972, see

Universal Airlines (United States) Universal Airlines was a United States airline that operated from 1966 to 1972, based at Willow Run Airport in Ypsilanti, Michigan. History It initially grew out of Zantop Air Transport, starting with a small fleet of C-46, DC-6, DC-7, and Arg ...

.'' Universal Airlines was an

airline An airline is a company that provides civil aviation, air transport services for traveling passengers and freight. Airlines use aircraft to supply these services and may form partnerships or Airline alliance, alliances with other airlines for ...

based in

Georgetown, Guyana Georgetown is the capital (political), capital and largest city of Guyana. It is situated in Demerara-Mahaica, region 4, on the Atlantic Ocean coast, at the mouth of the Demerara River. It is nicknamed the "Garden City of the Caribbean." It is t ...

and headquartered in

Richmond Hill, New York Richmond Hill is a commercial and residential neighborhood located in the southwestern section of the New York City borough of Queens. The area borders Kew Gardens and Forest Park to the north, Jamaica and South Jamaica to the east, South Ozone P ...

. The airline operated a scheduled passenger service to the United States and to nearby

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated south of ...

until going bankrupt. Operations were suspended in 2005.

History

The airline was established by Guyanese sisters Chandramatie Harpaul and Ramashree Singh to replace the defunct

Guyana Airways Guyana Airways was the flag carrier of Guyana. It was an important link for the Guyanese community as it provided a way into and out of the country. During its operations, Guyana Airways operated services to destinations in the Caribbean, the U ...

in 2001. Operations started on December 13, 2001, with a

Boeing 767-300ER The Boeing 767 is an American wide-body aircraft developed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. The aircraft was launched as the 7X7 program on July 14, 1978, the prototype first flew on September 26, 1981, and it was certified on ...

leased from

LOT Polish Airlines LOT Polish Airlines, legally incorporated as Polskie Linie Lotnicze LOT S.A. (, ''flight''), is the flag carrier of Poland. Established in 1928, LOT was a founding member of IATA and remains one of the world's oldest airlines in operation. Wit ...

non-stop from

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

to Georgetown. The company was financed by 11 investors from Guyana. Catering mainly to Guyanese in the US, the airline focused on the specific needs of this customer base, offering larger baggage allowances and a non-stop route. It subsequently leased an

Airbus A320-200 Airbus SE (; ; ; ) is a European multinational aerospace corporation. Airbus designs, manufactures and sells civil and military aerospace products worldwide and manufactures aircraft throughout the world. The company has three divisions: '' ...

from

TACA Airlines Transportes Aereos del Continente Americano, (''Air Transports of the American Continent'', known and branded formerly as TACA International), operating as Avianca El Salvador, is an airline owned by Kingsland Holdings based in El Salvador. As ...

, but was repossessed in 2005 and Universal Airlines was forced to suspend operations on August 29, 2005.

BWIA West Indies Airways BWIA West Indies Airways Limited, known locally as "Bee-Wee" and also as British West Indian Airways and BWIA International, was the national airline based in Trinidad and Tobago. At the end of operations, BWIA was the largest airline operating o ...

assisted stranded passengers during that time.

Destinations

Universal Airlines flew to the following destinations: * **

Manaus Manaus () is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian state of Amazonas. It is the seventh-largest city in Brazil, with an estimated 2020 population of 2,219,580 distributed over a land area of about . Located at the east center of the s ...

(

Eduardo Gomes International Airport Manaus International Airport – Eduardo Gomes is the airport serving Manaus, Brazil. It is named after Brazilian politician and military figure Air Marshal Eduardo Gomes (1896–1981). It is operated by Vinci Airports History Manaus Int ...

) * ** Georgetown (

Cheddi Jagan International Airport Cheddi Jagan International Airport , formerly Timehri International Airport, is the primary airport of Guyana. The airport is located on the right bank of the Demerara River in the city of Timehri, south of Guyana's capital, Georgetown. It is ...

) Hub * **

Fort Lauderdale A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

(

Fort Lauderdale–Hollywood International Airport Fort Lauderdale–Hollywood International Airport is a major public airport in Broward County, Florida, United States. It is one of three airports serving the Miami metropolitan area. The airport is off Interstate 595 in Florida, Interstate 5 ...

) **

(

John F. Kennedy International Airport John F. Kennedy International Airport (colloquially referred to as JFK Airport, Kennedy Airport, New York-JFK, or simply JFK) is the main international airport serving New York City. The airport is the busiest of the seven airports in the Ne ...

) * **

Paramaribo Paramaribo (; ; nicknamed Par'bo) is the capital and largest city of Suriname, located on the banks of the Suriname River in the Paramaribo District. Paramaribo has a population of roughly 241,000 people (2012 census), almost half of Suriname's ...

(

Johan Adolf Pengel International Airport Johan Adolf Pengel International Airport , also known as Paramaribo-Zanderij International Airport, and locally referred to simply as JAP, is an airport located in the town of Zanderij and hub for airline carrier Surinam Airways, south of Param ...

) * **

Piarco Piarco is a town in northern Trinidad and is the site of Piarco International Airport . Geography Piarco is the site of one of the few natural savannas in Trinidad and Tobago, the ''Piarco Savanna''. Most of this savanna land has been incorporate ...

(

Piarco International Airport Piarco International Airport is an international airport serving the island of Trinidad and is one of two international airports in Trinidad and Tobago. The airport is located east of Downtown Port of Spain, located in the adjacent town of Pia ...

)

Fleet

Universal Airlines operated the following aircraft:

References

External links

* via

Wayback Machine The Wayback Machine is a digital archive of the World Wide Web founded by the Internet Archive, a nonprofit based in San Francisco, California. Created in 1996 and launched to the public in 2001, it allows the user to go "back in time" and see ...

{{Transport in Guyana Defunct airlines of Guyana Airlines established in 2001 Airlines disestablished in 2005 2001 establishments in Guyana 2005 disestablishments in Guyana

History

Destinations

Fleet

See also

References

External links