Duane A. Zantop and his three brothers formed the Zantop Flying Service in 1946. It operated as a fixed-base and charter-service, performing a limited cargo service for General Motors Corporation. It obtained a commercial operator's certificate in 1952 allowing them to expand their services to both Ford and Chrysler, as well as acquiring large aircraft. A majority of the company's contracts came from major automotive companies, and the Department of Defense. It became a supplemental air carrier in 1962 because of the Civil Aeronautics Board's approval of the transfer to Zantop of the operating certificate of Coastal Airlines. In 1966 the brothers sold their stock in Zantop air Transport, resigned, and the airline became known as Universal Airlines Inc.