Northwest Airlines inaugurated Jet service at Grand Forks, North Dakota, utilizing Boeing 727 aircraft, on May 23, 1965.

This cover was carried on the inaugural Northwest Airlines Jet flight from Grand Forks, North Dakota to Minneapolis, Minnesota (where it was backstamped) and is listed in the Jet Age Flights Section of The American Air Mail Catalogue as J-1036.

On April 15, 2008, Delta Air Lines and Northwest Airlines announced a merger agreement. The merger of the two carriers formed what was then the largest commercial airline in the world, with 786 aircraft. Delta Air Lines' brand survived, while Northwest's brand officially ended in 2009.