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The WNBA has entered into talks to allow charter flights for all of its teams this season after facing backlash over the sighting of Caitlin Clark and her Indiana Fever teammates on a commercial trip.
Clark landed in Dallas, Texas, along with his new teammates on Friday ahead of his professional basketball debut against the Wings, which resulted in a 79-76 loss, but the team’s travel arrangements were at the center of the discussion on social media as the first overall pick was casually passing through Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport.
However, it appears WNBA players will now have the same flight arrangements as their NBA counterparts, as league commissioner Cathy Engelbert revealed in a meeting with sports editors on Tuesday.
“We intend to fund a full-time charter for this season,” she said, adding that the WNBA will launch the program “as soon as we can get planes in place.”
The WNBA is expected to spend $25 million on charter flights this season days after Caitlin Clark and her Fever teammates were spotted landing from a commercial flight in Dallas.
Clark and his teammates flew to Texas for a preseason game against the Wings on Friday.
Engelbert said the program will cost the league about $25 million per year for the next two seasons.
The WNBA had already announced in its draft last month its plans to return to paying for charter flights for all playoffs, as well as for consecutive games next season that require air travel.
The league schedule features more consecutive sets this season and the WNBA will take a long break for the Olympics in late July and early August.
The league spent $4 million on rentals in 2023.
Engelbert said before the WNBA draft that the league must be in the right financial position to lease planes.
The WNBA is attracting more attention than ever thanks to rookies like Caitlin Clarkwho helped the NCAA reach the largest audience ever for women’s basketball, with nearly 19 million fans watching the title game, along with Angel Reese, who attended the Met Gala on Monday night, and Cameron Brink.
