Zantop Air Transport was a

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

airline formed from

Zantop Flying Service Zantop Air Transport was a United States airline formed from Zantop Flying Service in 1962. The Civil Aeronautics Board approved transfer of the operating certificate of Coastal Airlines to Zantop Air Transport, which had incorporated and beco ...

in 1962. The

Civil Aeronautics Board The Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) was an agency of the federal government of the United States, formed in 1938 and abolished in 1985, that regulated aviation services including scheduled passenger airline serviceStringer, David H."Non-Skeds: Th ...

approved transfer of the operating certificate of Coastal Airlines to Zantop Air Transport, which had incorporated and become a supplemental air carrier. The former company had been a hauler for the Big Three automakers. With the new arrangement Zantop could provide individually waybilled services. The original founders of Zantop Flying Services, the Zantop brothers, all sold their stock and resigned from the company in 1966, at which time it became Universal Airlines, Inc. The airline was based at Wayne County Airport, Inkster, Michigan.

Zantop Flying Service

''Zantop Flying Service was a United States air service formed by brothers Duane, Lloyd, Howard and Elroy Zantop as a partnership in 1946. The base of operations for the new company was

Jackson, Michigan Jackson is the only city and county seat of Jackson County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 33,534, down from 36,316 at the 2000 census. Located along Interstate 94 and U.S. Route 127, it is approxi ...

. At first, the fledgling company used light aircraft, and performed cargo duties for

General Motors The General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest automaker in the United States and ...

. In 1952 the company obtained a commercial operators permit and began to service

Chrysler Stellantis North America (officially FCA US and formerly Chrysler ()) is one of the " Big Three" automobile manufacturers in the United States, headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan. It is the American subsidiary of the multinational automoti ...

and

Ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...

. A year later in 1953 they moved the operations to Wayne Major Airport, now

Detroit Metro Airport Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport , usually called Detroit Metro Airport, Metro Airport, or simply DTW, is a major international airport in the United States covering effective December 30, 2021. in Romulus, Michigan. It is the primary ...

. The company continued under that name until becoming Zantop Air Transport in 1962

Zantop International Airlines

Zantop International Airlines Zantop International Airlines, Inc., was a United States airline incorporated in May 1972 as a Michigan corporation, the stock of which was 100% owned by the Zantop family. History Zantop traces its origins to 1946 when the Zantop family set up Z ...

was incorporated in May, 1972 with 100% of the stock being owned by the Zantop family.

Fleet

The Zantop Air Transport fleet consists of the following aircraft as of 1966:

Incidents and accidents

*28 July 1966 - Curtiss C-46A-45-CU N9905F *16 June 1966 - Curtiss C-46A-60-CK N10415 2 Fatlities *14 October 1965 - Armstrong Whitworth AW-650 Arg N601Z *13 September 1965 - Curtiss C-46D-5-CU N5132B *30 December 1964 - Curtiss C-46A-45-CU N608Z 4 Fatalities *20 November 1964 - Curtiss C-46F-1-CU N3971B *30 June 1964 - Douglas C-54A-5-DC N188S *7 December 1963 - Curtiss C-46A-20-CU N609Z 3 Fatalities *16 Feb 1963 - Curtiss C-46F-1-CU N616Z * 14 November 1961 Douglas DC-4 N30061

References

Defunct airlines of the United States Airlines established in 1946 Airlines disestablished in 1962 1946 establishments in Michigan Airlines established in 1962 Airlines disestablished in 1966 {{US-airline-stub

Zantop Flying Service

Zantop International Airlines

Fleet

Incidents and accidents

See also

References