America West was formed on September 4, 1981, by a group of airline veterans headed by Edward R. Beauvais, who was formerly associated with Bonanza Airlines. America West was originally conceived as a low-cost, high-frequency service with a main operating hub in Phoenix.

Cleveland was added to the America West network with Boeing 737 nonstop flights from both Las Vegas and Phoenix on March 1, 1997.

No cachet was provided for inaugural mail.

This cover was one of the few pieces of mail carried on the inaugural America West Airlines flight from the Phoenix, Arizona Airport Mail Facility to Cleveland, Ohio and is listed in The American Air Mail Catalogue as HP-D84Ef.

At the time of its acquisition of US Airways, America West had the unique distinction of being the only post-deregulation U.S. airline still operating under its original operating certificate. Their main hub was at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, with a secondary hub at McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas. The airline acquired US Airways in 2005 but took on the name of US Airways. America West served about 100 cities in the US, Canada, and Mexico; flights to Europe were on codeshare partners. In March 2005 the airline had 132 aircraft, with a single maintenance base at Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport. Regional jet and turboprop flights were operated on a code sharing basis by Mesa Airlines and Chautauqua Airlines as America West Express.

Beginning in January 2006, all America West flights were branded as US Airways, along with most signage at airports and other printed material, though many flights were described as "operated by America West." Apart from two heritage aircraft, the only remaining America West branding on aircraft were found on some seat covers and bulkheads.