The Pittsburgh Steelers and the Minnesota Vikings play a regular season NFL game in Dublin, Ireland today – but the flights over were very different experiences.
NFL International Series
The NFL’s international series has transformed from a quirky experiment into a steady piece of the league’s schedule, delivering regular season football to fans far from American shores. For 2025, the Steelers and Vikings will take their rivalry abroad, showcasing not just the pageantry of the league but also the growing appetite for [American] pro football outside the United States. These games began as a novelty but have grown into an extension of the NFL’s reach, exposing new fans to tailgate culture, star players, and unpredictable drama. London, Frankfurt, São Paulo and other host cities now treat these matchups like mini bowl games, complete with fan zones and often sold-out stadiums buzzing with jerseys from all 32 franchises in a broader appeal to the league generally.
The Steelers-Vikings clash stands out because both clubs carry serious tradition and fanbases that travel. Pittsburgh brings its trademark grit and “Steel Curtain” history, while Minnesota offers one of the league’s most unique cultures, and has been relatively successful the past few years. On neutral soil, the energy tilts differently: it’s less about home-field advantage and more about a global showcase. It’s a chance for the NFL to test its product overseas while reminding American fans that football has outgrown its borders. Expect plenty of black-and-gold towels waving next to purple horns.
For Pittsburgh, the city continues to court international carriers. Nearby Cleveland has several subsidized flights weekly to Dublin on Aer Lingus using a low stakes A321-NEO. Counter that with Pittsburgh’s own subsidized London flight on a British Airways 787, interest in connecting Pittsburgh and Dublin (and onward to major European metros) could be explored more seriously following the series.
Pittsburgh Steelers Roughing It In Aer Lingus Coach
Each team arranges their own transportation and can choose to arrive when they like for the week. The Steelers’ management chose to charter an Aer Lingus A330 which does not have enough seats in business class for all players let alone coaches or ownership. Players shared video on social media in coach though it’s worth mentioning that many players appeared to have “poor man’s business class” (a row of three seats to themselves to stretch out.
TRENDING: The #Steelers have gone viral for not flying their players first class for their international game in Ireland.
Most #NFL teams that play international games charter larger planes so that most of their players can sit in business and first class.pic.twitter.com/onffLYArQV
— MLFootball (@_MLFootball) September 26, 2025
Vikings Charter Delta One For Players
By contrast, Minnesota chartered a Delta aircraft and put players primarily in business class. Delta has a hub in Minneapolis and operated four flights (though some were regularly scheduled service) from Minneapolis-St. Paul, including a chartered Airbus A350. At least one player decided to bring his own Playstation and monitor to pass the time.
VIDEO: The Minnesota #Vikings are flying most of their players with first-class amenities for their game in Ireland.
Expect Minnesota’s players to look fresh during their game on Sunday.
The difference between Minnesota and Pittsburgh planes
pic.twitter.com/QC4QfFt2D4 https://t.co/pZ0fnqiCuM— MLFootball (@_MLFootball) September 26, 2025
The Vikings will stay in Europe, traveling to London following the game and playing there next week. The team will be across the pond for a total of ten days in a first-of-its-kind approach to international series games.
Will It Matter?
Dublin is a relatively short flight from both Pittsburgh and Minneapolis compared with other international game locations and teams. The time difference from Pittsburgh is five hours, Minneapolis adds another. The question is whether the Steelers will be adjusted well enough to play well.
Calvin Austin III: “The flight for me was pretty quick. When I laid down, they said we had like five hours and 30 minutes left. I woke up and it was like one (hour).”
Said he got a message and a meal as the Steelers begin adjusting to the time change. pic.twitter.com/B52lJTDOtV
— Mike DeFabo (@MikeDeFabo) September 26, 2025
On such a short flight maybe having business class doesn’t matter. Many can sleep fine with an entire row in coach, then again, perhaps the Vikings players didn’t make good use of business class and rest during the trip anyway.
Update: While not flight related, Steelers backup quarterback, Skyler Thompson (injured reserve), was robbed and assaulted in Dublin on Friday night. It’s unlikely to impact the game, but adds to the drama of this international match up.
Conclusion
The NFL continues its international series in Dublin today. The Steelers opted for coach for many of its players while the Vikings put its players in business class for the flight. The question as to whether the comfort or lack therein will affect gameplay or if, in fact, it doesn’t matter at all should be clear in the coming hours.
What do you think?
The entire post could have been one paragraph and have all the needed info.
Agreed.
Why are they even playing ireland, nobody outside of the demogrpahic that shops at costco cares about football.