*Angel Reese and her fellow Chicago Sky players still rely on commercial flights as they kick off the 2024 season. This comes as the league works on ironing out the details of its fresh partnership with Delta Airlines to provide private planes for teams.
“Just praying that this is one of the last commercial flights the Chicago Sky has to fly …” the ex-LSU star said on her Instagram Story, TMZ reports.
At an Associated Press sports editors meeting, WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said the league would initiate full-time charter flights starting this season.
“The WNBA will begin charter travel for all 12 of its teams this season “as soon as we logistically can get planes in places,” Commissioner Cathy Engelbert told sports editors at a league meeting Tuesday afternoon, confirming a report on X by USA TODAY sports columnist Christine Brennan,” Engelbert said, per USA TODAY.
“We intend to fund a full-time charter for this season,” Engelbert continued. “We’re going to as soon as we can get it up and running. Maybe it’s a couple weeks, maybe it’s a month … We are really excited for the prospects here.”
The Indiana Fever are on their first charter flight of the season as part of the WNBA’s new league-wide program pic.twitter.com/paBLHNCsiT
— Front Office Sports (@FOS) May 13, 2024
In a press release, Seattle Storm forward and WNBPA President Nneka Ogwumike said: “I am thrilled to see a significant change in policy that will permit and provide charter travel across all teams throughout the 2024 season and going forward. On behalf of the players, I express my appreciation and support for a bold move by the Commissioner and team governors that in turn shows that they understand and value the health and safety of the players. It is time to be transformational. It’s time to bet on women.”
Per TMZ, “Caitlin Clark’s Indiana Fever and the Minnesota Lynx were the first two teams to reap the benefits of the WNBA’s charter flight,” the outlet writes.
According to Front Office Sports, the WNBA spent $4 million on charter flights in 2023.
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