Delta Air Lines will charter the majority of WNBA game flights after the basketball league agreed to shuttle its players in private planes for the 2024 season.
The WNBA league-wide charter program will be phased in with the start of the 2024 regular season, which officially kicks off May 14, according to the league.
The decision to operate a fully-private charter program comes as stars like Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese started playing professionally this year, garnering mass interest. Previously, charter flights were only allowed in the WNBA for specific circumstances, like if a team had back-to-back games, ESPN reported.
The move comes after video emerged of Indiana Fever players — Clark’s team — boarding a commercial flight to Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) for a game. Clark’s explosive popularity has helped put a spotlight on the concept of flying private.
Delta’s CEO Ed Bastian said in the statement the airline was excited to “add the WNBA to our prestigious roster of sports charter partners as we participate in this historic advancement in women’s professional sports.”
The timeline for when these flights would start wasn’t immediately clear.
The program is expected to cost about $25 million per year for the next two seasons, ESPN noted.
