Context The Zantop brothers, Duane, Howard and Lloyd, started a
fixed-base operator in 1946 called Zantop Flying Service, which was incorporated in 1956 as Zantop Air Transport, an uncertificated airline or
Part 45 carrier (an airline that was not a
common carrier). In 1962 it was certificated as a
supplemental air carrier. In 1966, the brothers sold out to a new owner which renamed the business
Universal Airlines. In May 1972, financial difficulties caused Universal Airlines to cease operations.
Startup On 30 May 1972, the same three Zantop brothers, along with two other people, incorporated Zantop International Airlines, Inc. (ZIA). ZIA was a
Part 121 commercial operator, an airline that held
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) operational certification, but no economic certification from the CAB because it was not a
common carrier; it did not accept shipments from the public. ZIA performed its first commercial operations in June 1972. In 1977, as a result of legislation that required all airlines flying for the military to be certificated, ZIA applied for and received CAB certification as a supplemental air carrier. ZIA was then a contractor for the
United States Air Force Logair program for the next 14 years, from 1977 to 1991 when it was underbid and lost the contract (the Logair program ended completely in 1992). In 1980, ZIA bought the mainland cargo business of
Hawaiian Airlines (branded Hawaiian Air Cargo, also focused on Logair), including Hawaiian's Electras and its hangar at
Macon, Georgia. A 21 March 1982 windstorm collapsed the ZIA hangar at Macon and crushed two Lockheed Electras within. The hangar was rebuilt, larger than before. ZIA's Macon presence survived the loss of the Logair contract and in 1996, ZIA got a contract with
ValuJet to perform
C-checks. The next year, however, ZIA sold its Macon operation. From 1972 to 1978 Zantop flew the DC-6, the
Lockheed L-188 Electra, the
Convair CV-640 and several
Douglas DC-8 freighters. In 1978 DC-8s were also used for passenger charter flights. In 1980 Zantop also purchased the freight division of
Hawaiian Airlines and with it came more Electras. By this time Zantop was one of the largest airlines in the freight business. ZIA had an oversized cargo hub at Ypsilanti, Michigan that served numerous cities in the U.S. on a weeknight basis. A system route map published by Zantop in 1985 lists service to 32 airports in the central and eastern U.S. all served from the airline's hub located at the
Willow Run Airport (YIP).
Ypsilanti 1992 In the late 1980s Duane Zantop's son Jimmy took over after Duane experienced physical problems. Duane Zantop is credited with building the business while his son Jimmy Zantop is remembered for cautiously expanding opportunities globally. Both are credited with recognizing the unique opportunities created by the airline's rare certificates which allowed it to operate globally with very few political restrictions. In 1994 the pilots of Zantop voted to join the Teamsters union primarily known for organizing auto workers. Partially in response Zantop created a dedicated FAR Part 125 Certificate that could operate without unionized pilots but this was insufficient to save the airline from the rapidly evolving air freight industry and competition from much larger UPS and FedEx. In the early 2000s Zantop surrendered their operating certificates to the FAA, sold their aging aircraft and ceased operations. ==Freight contracts==