All WNBA Teams Will Fly Charter for First Time This Season, per Commissioner

Travel has been a thorny issue in women's basketball's flagship league for years.

May 25, 2023; Los Angeles, California, USA; Wilson official basketball with WNBA logo. / Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

One of the WNBA's thorniest logistical issues appears on the verge of being put to bed.

The league will provide charter air travel to all its teams for the first time, commissioner Cathy Engelbert said Tuesday—a week before the beginning of the regular season.

“We intend to fund a full-time charter for this season,” Engelbert told reporters.

Per the commissioner, the flights will cost $25 million over two seasons and will begin "as soon as we can get planes in places."

The poor state of WNBA travel has long been a hot topic in basketball circles, with the New York Liberty facing severe discipline for splurging on a team trip to Napa in 2021 on the grounds that it exceeded compensation allowable under the league's CBA.

This season is the most anticipated in WNBA history, as the league welcomes rookie Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark and Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese to an already intriguing crop of stars. The New York Liberty and Washington Mystics will tip off the regular season on Tuesday, May 14 in Washington D.C.