Piedmont Airlines was chosen by the Department of Transportation over American Airlines to begin its first international service to London from Charlotte on June 15-16, 1987.

Piedmont also chose the new London route to introduce its first wide body aircraft, the Boeing 767. The flight originated in Tampa, stopped in Charlotte, and continued to London’s Gatwick Airport.

This cover was carried on the inaugural Piedmont Airlines flight from the Charlotte, North Carolina Airport Mail Facility to London, England (where it was backstamped) and is listed in The American Air Mail Catalogue as PI-F113f.

The USAir (later renamed USAirways) purchase of Piedmont Airlines was approved by the Department of Transportation. The sale was completed in October 1987. The two airlines operated separately until August 5, 1989, when all operations and schedules were integrated. Piedmont ceased to exist on August 5.

US Airways was a major American airline that ceased to operate independently when the Federal Aviation Administration granted a single operating certificate for US Airways and American Airlines on April 8, 2015.