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The story
Melvin era
On 30 May 1972, following the end of operations and bankruptcy of Universal Airlines earlier that month, the State of Michigan received incorporation papers for Zantop International Airlines, for which Ronald Deane Melvin was a minor shareholder; incorporation was effective that day. Also on 30 May, Michigan received incorporation papers for International Airlines Academy. The Academy was a spinoff from the training group of Universal Airlines and its main shareholder was Melvin with the three Zantop brothers, Duane, Howard and Lloyd, as minor shareholders. Incorporation was effective 21 June. Melvin ran the company through its 1990 bankruptcy.
In 1975, the academy started airline operations under the name Trans Continental Airlines, initially a trade name, but by year-end 1976 the company adopted that as its name. TCA was a commercial operator, uncertificated by the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB), the now-defunct federal agency that, at the time, provided strict economic regulation of most US air transport, and was thus limited to contract flying only. In May 1979, following 1977 US air cargo deregulation, the CAB certificated TCA as a freight airline, noting it had been "engaged in the private carriage of automotive parts for the 'Big Three' auto companies."
In May 1989, TCA acquired 254-seat Douglas DC-8-63 passenger aircraft, which it used for passenger charters, but also limited scheduled service, e.g. twice a week Las Vegas to Honolulu starting 1990. Until that time, it had remained a freight carrier, with auto-manufacturing accounting for 75% of its business. However, passenger traffic had grown to become 40% of its revenue. But in October the airline declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy and returned the passenger aircraft, reverting to a pure cargo airline. The airline environment was poor, with high fuel prices and low automotive and passenger demand (Iraq had invaded Kuwait in August)).
After Melvin
Drag racer Connie Kalitta, who at that time owned American International Airways and several related businesses, rescued TCA from bankruptcy and in 1994 sold it to his son, Scott Kalitta, at which time TCA had only two aircraft. In early 1999 TCA was purchased from Scott Kalitta by David Clark and Michael Goldberg. In 2000 the name of the company changed to Express.Net Airlines. The airline has not been in operation since 2008.
From Wikipedia’s article on Express.Net Airlines, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.3