WNBA players will soon be able to take charter planes for all away games

The WNBA is established to announce the use of constitution planes for vacation to and from all absent game titles, league commissioner Cathy Englebert explained Tuesday.

It will mark a improve from the current arrangement that observed the league’s 12 groups generally flying commercial.

“We intend to fund a comprehensive-time constitution for this season,” Engelbert stated Tuesday in a assembly with sports editors.

The existing rule, stipulated by the existing collective bargaining settlement (CBA), inevitably led to delays and head aches, as documented in an Involved Press report past calendar year.

In specific, primarily tall gamers have often been cramped into unpleasant seats — although international players, who simply cannot use expedited airport safety processing like TSA PreCheck, often induced extended waits for their teammates.

Even though players are commonly equipped to choose convenience or economic climate-as well as seats, any upgrades experienced to come specifically from a player’s pocket.

An try by the New York Liberty to circumvent the industrial-flying rule in 2022 was fulfilled with a history $500,000 great, while the league has since authorized teams with back again-to-again activity-evenings to use charters.

Englebert reported the league will start the system “as before long as we can get planes in places.”

Very last yr, the WNBA approximated it would price tag about $25 million to use charters for the entire time.

The CBA is set to expire soon after this season — and with desire in women’s basketball at all-time highs amid Caitlin Clark mania, the league looks to be finding forward of ongoing complaints about a absence of financial investment in its gamers, even though anticipating amplified revenues that must enable include the price tag of flying personal.

The first WNBA normal season recreation for 2024 is slated to tip off Tuesday, Might 14.