How to Fly Nonstop to See the Steelers, Penguins

Pittsburgh sports fans are known for their unrivaled loyalty to their teams. Maybe that’s the reason they always travel well.

With football back and hockey just around the corner, Pittsburghers have many choices on nonstop flights to cheer their teams to victory. The Pittsburgh Steelers opened the NFL season Sunday in Atlanta on a high note, defeating the Falcons 18-10. As always during away games, the black and gold turnout was strong with many Terrible Towels visible inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

For the Falcons game, Steelers fans had some extra flights available to get down to Atlanta. Southwest Airlines operated additional scheduled flights on its Pittsburgh-Atlanta route, along with Delta Air Lines’ eight daily flights to its Atlanta hub.

The Steelers will stay on the road this upcoming weekend when they head west to face the Denver Broncos at Mile High Stadium.

Fortunately, Denver is one of PIT’s most popular markets with a wide selection of nonstop flights to get fans to the game. Southwest and United Airlines each offer three daily nonstop flights on the Pittsburgh-Denver route. For fans seeking low-cost options, Frontier Airlines also offers nonstop flights to Denver from PIT.

Perhaps the marquee road game on the Steelers’ schedule this season? For the second year in a row, the Steelers will head to Las Vegas to face the Raiders at Allegiant Stadium Oct. 13. This road game has been so popular for Steelers fans that airlines, such as Allegiant, have previously added more nonstop flights between Pittsburgh and Las Vegas to accommodate the extra demand.

For this year’s game, Southwest is offering an expanded schedule on its existing Pittsburgh-Las Vegas route with a peak schedule of three daily nonstop flights on select days before and after the game. Fans also have access to ultra-low-cost carrier Spirit Airlines’ daily nonstop service between PIT and Las Vegas.

If you are a fan that prefers a shorter hop to a Steelers road game – or looking for an easy alternative to driving – the team plays at the Washington Commanders Nov. 10, the Philadelphia Eagles Dec. 15 and the Baltimore Ravens Dec. 21.

For the Commanders and Ravens games, airlines offer numerous quick nonstop flights to the Baltimore/Washington area’s three major airports. Southwest operates daily flights to Baltimore/Washington International Airport (BWI); American Airlines offers daily flights to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA); and United offers three daily flights to Washington-Dulles International Airport (IAD).

For fans that want to brave the trip to the City of Brotherly Love, American and Frontier each offer daily nonstop flights between PIT and Philadelphia International Airport.

Take flight for the Pens

A new NHL city appears on the Pittsburgh Penguins’ schedule this season – and it coincides nicely with the latest nonstop route being added at PIT this winter.

The 2024-25 season is Salt Lake City’s first as part of the NHL. The Penguins will travel there to face the Utah Hockey Club Jan. 29 at the Delta Center in downtown Salt Lake City.

Pens fans eager to check off the newest NHL city are in luck as Delta Air Lines is re-launching daily nonstop service between Pittsburgh and Salt Lake City Nov. 23.

RELATED: Mountain View: Delta Adds Pittsburgh-Salt Lake City Route

The Penguins’ game at Utah is part of a west coast swing in January that also has the team visiting the following venues, each accessible via nonstop service from PIT:

• The Los Angeles Kings at Cypto.com Arena Jan. 20 and Anaheim Ducks at Honda Center Jan. 23. Fans traveling to both games can utilize Spirit’s daily service to Los Angeles International Airport (Breeze Airways also offers service on the Pittsburgh-Los Angeles route).
• The Seattle Kraken at Climate Pledge Arena Jan. 25. Pens fans heading to Seattle can use Alaska Airlines’ daily nonstop service from PIT.
• The San Jose Sharks at SAP Center Jan. 27. United operates daily nonstop flights between PIT and San Francisco, offering the quickest way to get to the Bay Area.

The Pen’s away schedule also coincides with spring break travel which includes games against the Vegas Golden Knights March 7, the Florida Panthers March 23 and the Tampa Bay Lightning March 25.

Southwest and Spirit both offer daily, nonstop flights for Pens fans to Las Vegas and Tampa while Breeze flies nonstop to Tampa. For the game at Florida, Southwest also offers nonstop service to Fort Lauderdale and Miami, American operates daily service to Miami and Spirit flies nonstop service to Fort Lauderdale.

Pens fans can also travel nonstop on Air Canada to Toronto against the Maple Leafs Oct. 12, a trip where fans can also visit the Hockey Hall of Fame in the city’s downtown. Fans can also take Air Canada’s nonstop service to hockey mecca Montreal when the Penguins play the Canadiens at the Bell Centre Oct. 14.

Hardcore Pens fans can also travel to see the team face its biggest rivals on the road in the following cities throughout the season:

• The Philadelphia Flyers Feb. 8 and Feb. 25. Daily nonstop flights between PIT and Philadelphia are offered by American and Frontier.
• The New Jersey Devils Dec. 21 and April 11; New York Islanders Nov. 5 and Dec. 28; and New York Rangers Dec. 6 and Feb. 7. PIT has daily nonstop service to Newark on Spirit and United; New York-JFK on American and Delta; and New York-LaGuardia on American, Delta and Spirit.
• The Boston Bruins Nov. 29, where fans can fly nonstop between PIT and Boston on Delta, JetBlue and Spirit.
• The Washington Capitals Nov. 8 and Jan. 18. Fans can get a chance to watch Sidney Crosby versus Alex Ovechkin at Capital One Arena in Washington D.C. via American’s nonstop service to Washington-National or United’s flights to Washington-Dulles.
• The Carolina Hurricanes Nov. 7 and Jan. 5. Pittsburghers can watch the Penguins play this division rival at PNC Arena by flying nonstop from PIT to Raleigh-Durham on American, Breeze and Frontier.

A full list of the Steelers and Penguins schedules can be found on each of their websites. An up-to-date list and route map of PIT’s nonstop flights can be found at FlyPittsburgh.com.