The Dodgers return to Los Angeles on the plane of the Patriots, the American football team

The World Series champion Dodgers are back in Los Angeles, thanks in part to the New England Patriots.

The NFL team apparently gave the MLB team a helping hand, taking with them and the Commissioner’s Trophy they had just won by defeating the New York Yankees in Game 5 of the Fall Classic on Wednesday night .

Cameras were rolling at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) when the team took off from the plane, called AirKraft, with the trophy in hand. Another plane, not marked with a professional sports team, was also part of the trip back to Los Angeles.

Some fans speculated that it was a prank by the Dodgers and Patriots, as the Yankees are New England’s biggest baseball rival.

But the Patriots answered NBC10 Boston’s question about how their plane ended up carrying the World Series champions, and the answer is simple.

There are actually two Patriots aircraft, both 767s, and they are available for charter through the team’s partnership with charter provider Omni Air International.

Patriots-branded planes are also used for humanitarian missions, such as delivering 1.7 million N95 masks from China to Boston early in the coronavirus pandemic.

That seems to be what happened in this case, according to the Patriots: When the team is not using the planes, they can be rented out. The Patriots don’t know if the Dodgers specifically requested their plane or if it was just a coincidence.

With a 2-6 record so far this year, it appears that this is AirKraft’s only chance at a championship trophy this year.