Women’s basketball player Brittney Griner measures 6 feet, 9 inches. Some of our tallest readers may already know the implications of someone that size trying to live comfortably in a world designed for typically-sized bodies. But for the rest of us, imagine trying to fit in a regular commercial airline seat when you’re that tall. Even if you’re in Premium Economy, it’s still a tight fit.
On top of that, Griner, who was convicted and held in a Russian prison for 9 months in 2022 has had occasional problems with harassment from hecklers at public airports since her release in a prisoner swap with international arms dealer Viktor Bout.
Despite the discomfort, inconvenience and extra time involved, using commercial flights has almost always been how WNBA teams travel. But that’s about to change, as the league is expected to begin allowing all teams to travel using charter planes this season “as soon as we can get the planes in place,” said WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert.
Delta Air Lines has been chosen as the charter carrier. Here’s more about their charter program.
Chartered planes will give the teams a little more room to stretch out. The non-commercial flights will also allow the players to go through private air terminals (read: no long security lines or the need for bodyguards) and then straight to buses or their own cars when returning home. Avoiding layovers will also help with recovery between games.
The WNBA plans to commit $50 million over the next two years so all 12 teams can fly charter.
There will be a conference call later this week to hammer out the details with player reps and the union. But Engelbert said the league is prepared to launch the charter flight program as soon as the planes can be put into place.
The WNBA pre-season began earlier this month.
The one piece of bad news about using a Delta-operated charter flight? They won’t earn SkyMiles. Whomp whomp. From Delta:
Joe and were lucky enough to fly on an NHL charter plane back in 2016. If they have this much room, their future flights will be a pleasure.
Feature Image (cropped): John Mac / flickr / CC BY-SA 2.0
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2 comments
I would not want to see Griner play !!
I”m sorry…I don’t watch women’s basketball at all…but what does watching Griner play, or not, have to do with their having charter planes?