For the Guyana-based airline that operated between 2001 and 2005, see Universal Airlines

Universal Airlines

Universal Airlines was an airline based in Georgetown, Guyana. The Universal Airlines operated a scheduled passenger service to the USA and to nearby Trinidad and Tobago...

Universal Airlines was a United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 airline

Airline

An airline provides air transport services for traveling passengers and freight. Airlines lease or own their aircraft with which to supply these services and may form partnerships or alliances with other airlines for mutual benefit...

 that operated from 1966 to 1972, based at Willow Run Airport

Willow Run Airport

Willow Run Airport is an airport located in Van Buren Charter Township and in Ypsilanti Township, near Ypsilanti, Michigan, that serves freight, corporate, and general aviation clients...

 in Ypsilanti, Michigan

Ypsilanti, Michigan

Ypsilanti is a city in Washtenaw County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 22,362. The city is bounded to the north by the Charter Township of Superior and on the west, south, and east by the Charter Township of Ypsilanti...

. It initially grew out of Zantop Air Transport

Zantop Air Transport

Zantop Air Transport was 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 become a supplemental air carrier. The former company had been a hauler for the...

, starting with a small fleet of Lockheed L-188 Electra

Lockheed L-188 Electra

The Lockheed Model 188 Electra is an American turboprop airliner built by Lockheed. First flying in 1957, it was the first large turboprop airliner produced in the United States. Initial sales were good, but after two fatal crashes which prompted an expensive modification program to fix a design...

. In April 1968 Universal took delivery of two Douglas DC-8 Series 61CF

Douglas DC-8

The Douglas DC-8 is a four-engined narrow-body passenger commercial jet airliner, manufactured from 1958 to 1972 by the Douglas Aircraft Company...

 jets and leased three additional ones over the next three years. It operated a number of military contract flights. The airline went bankrupt in May 1972 and its assets were received by Saturn Airways

Saturn Airways

Saturn Airways was a US "supplemental carrier", i.e. a charter airline. It operated from 1948 until 1976. Its headquarters were located on the grounds of Oakland International Airport, Oakland, California.- History :The airline was initially known as All American Airways and used Curtiss C-46...

.