WNBA to begin full-time charter flights this season, commissioner says

WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said the programme volition outgo the league astir $25 cardinal per twelvemonth for the adjacent 2 seasons.

NEW YORK -- The hold for full-time charter flights for WNBA teams yet is implicit with commissioner Cathy Engelbert announcing the league's plans to commencement the programme this season.

"We mean to money a full-time charter for this season," Engelbert said Tuesday successful a gathering with sports editors.

She said the league volition motorboat the programme "as soon arsenic we tin get planes successful places."

Engelbert said the programme volition outgo the league astir $25 cardinal per twelvemonth for the adjacent 2 seasons.

The WNBA already had announced astatine its draught past period plans to erstwhile again wage for charter flights for the full playoffs arsenic good arsenic for back-to-back games during the upcoming play that necessitate aerial travel.

The league's docket features much back-to-back sets this play with the WNBA taking a agelong interruption for the Olympics successful precocious July and aboriginal August. The league spent $4 cardinal connected charters successful 2023.

Engelbert said earlier the WNBA draught that the league needs to beryllium successful the close fiscal presumption to charter planes.

The WNBA is attracting much attraction than ever acknowledgment to rookies similar Caitlin Clark, who helped the NCAA scope its champion viewership successful past for women's basketball, with astir 19 cardinal fans watching the rubric game, on with Angel Reese who went to the Met Gala connected Monday nighttime and Cameron Brink.

Clark attracted attraction walking done the airdrome with her caller Indiana Fever teammates for a preseason crippled with the Dallas Wings past week. That accumulation sold retired with fans lined up anxious to get inside.

WNBA teams besides person been moving games against Clark and Indiana to bigger arenas owed to accrued demand.

Flights person been an contented for the WNBA that lone accrued past twelvemonth with the league moving with Brittney Griner and the Phoenix Mercury. They had to spell commercialized air, and the All-Star halfway who had been detained successful Russia for astir 10 months was harassed by what the WNBA called a "provocateur."

The league hadn't allowed teams to usage charter flights but for erstwhile they person back-to-back games.

Many teams had been utilizing nationalist charter hose JSX. Those flights were allowed by the WNBA with definite protocols successful place, including that teams alert connected the 30-seat planes utilizing preset routes and times.