The Chicago to Tokyo route had been a political football with the final award going to United Airlines.

American Airlines and Continental Airlines were in the running and, at one time, American Airlines had been awarded the route.  But in the end, United Airlines inaugurated the service on January 8, 1991, with one of its new Boeing 747-400s.

The inaugural flight originated in Washington, stopped at Chicago, and continued nonstop to Tokyo. The return flight on January 9 retraced the route.

This cover was carried on the inaugural United Airlines flight from the Dulles Airport Mail Facility in Washington, DC to Tokyo, Japan (where it was backstamped) and is listed in The American Air Mail Catalogue as UA-F279f.