WNBA players will now travel on Delta's private planes. After reaching an agreement with the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA), Delta Air Lines will transport players on private planes during the 2024 season.
The league-wide private plane program will be gradually implemented alongside the start of the 2024 regular season, officially beginning on May 14th. It's noted that such a program is being implemented for the first time.
The decision to operate a fully private charter program came after the debut of stars like Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese this year, drawing significant interest. Previously, according to ESPN, charter flights in the WNBA were only permitted for specific circumstances, such as consecutive team games.
This decision followed footage of Indiana Fever players boarding a commercial flight to Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) for a game. The players of the Indiana Fever, Clark's team, helped focus attention on the concept of traveling by private planes, given Clark's explosive popularity.
Delta CEO Ed Bastian expressed excitement about adding the WNBA to Delta's prestigious sports charter partner list, describing the WNBA as "a historic advancement in women's professional sports."
A timeline for when these flights will begin has not been immediately clarified. WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert stated, "We have been working to establish a sustainable economic model to support long-term charter flights." She added, "We still have a lot of work to do to implement our strategic plan, but we believe now is the time to fully implement a charter program.''
The program is expected to cost approximately $25 million annually for the next two seasons.
