In honor of new McDonnell Douglas DC-9 service from Myrtle Beach, the South Carolina governor declared May 1, 1985 as “USAir Day.” An honor guard along with local government and tourism officials gave a rousing welcome when the first USAir flight landed in Myrtle Beach. USAir’s (later renamed USAirways and then absorbed by American Airlines) inaugural service to Myrtle Beach consisted of a flight from Pittsburgh with a stop at Greenville / Spartanburg and a nonstop flight from Washington.

This cover was carried on the inaugural USAir flight from the Washington, DC Airport Mail Facility to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina (where it was backstamped) and is listed in The American Air Mail Catalogue as AL-D72Sf.

On February 14, 2013, US Airways Group and AMR Corporation announced that the two companies would merge to form the largest airline in the world. The combined airline carries the American Airlines name.