Northwest Airlines began Boeing 727 jet service from Rochester on October 31, 1965. 

No cachets were provided for the inaugural mail.

This cover was carried on the inaugural Northwest Airlines Jet flight from Rochester, Minnesota to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (where it was backstamped) and is listed in the Jet Age Flights Section of The American Air Mail Catalogue as J-1085.

Mike Codd, a noted air mail historian, prepared the cover.

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.