Wheeling, West Virginia and Columbus, Ohio were intermediate points on TWA’s Air Mail Route 61.  This route, which was authorized in order to give TWA an entrance into Washington, DC for its transcontinental service was inaugurated on August 16, 1943.

There were no official cachets for the inaugural mail.

This cover was carried on the inaugural Air Mail Route 61 flight dispatched from the National Airport Station in Washington, DC to Dayton, Ohio (where it was backstamped) and is listed in the Contract Air Mail Flights (CAM) Section of The American Air Mail Catalogue as 61W1a.

In January 2001, Trans World Airlines filed for a third and final bankruptcy and was acquired by American Airlines. American Airlines laid off many former TWA employees in the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks. TWA continued to exist as an LLC under American Airlines until July 1, 2003 at which time all operations were integrated into American Airlines.