Angel Reese and her Chicago Sky teammates flew on a commercial flight to Dallas, for their May 15 WNBA regular season debut against the Dallas Wings.
Reese posted an Instagram Story during the trip that made her feelings on flying commercial clear.
“Just praying that this is one of the last commercial flights the Chicago Sky has to fly….,” Reese said, per Kit Guinhawa.
The former LSU star’s caption continued, “Like Breezy said “Practicing gratitude & patience as the league introduces charter flights for all teams.”
Reese is referring to a May 14 X post from teammate Brianna Turner. The post wrote, “Practicing gratitude & patience as the league introduces charter flights for all teams. Will make the most out of my commercial middle seat until then #SafeTravels #WelcometotheW“.
On May 7, WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert announced that the league is close to launching a program that would charter flights for all 12 WNBA teams to away games.
Engelbert confirmed the program’s existence during the May 7 Associated Press Sports Editors Commissioners Meetings in New York. She was quoted saying that the program will be launched, “as soon as we logistically can get planes in places,” per USA Today.
“We intend to fund a full-time charter for this season,” Engelbert added. “We’re going to as soon as we can get it up and running. Maybe it’s a couple weeks, maybe it’s a month … We are really excited for the prospects here.”
Caitlin Clark’s Chartered Flight With the Indiana Fever
A May 13 ESPN article stated that, “multiple teams told ESPN they have not received word from the league on when they will be permitted to charter as the WNBA prepares to kick off its 28th season Tuesday.”
That said, both the Minnesota Lynx and the Indiana Fever flew chartered flights to their WNBA regular season opener.
The Fever’s X account posted a video and multiple photos of players and staff members on their chartered flight.
“15 years I’ve been in this league, and this is my first chartered flight,” Fever head coach Christie Sides said.
Although the ESPN article also noted that, “Teams that have started chartering are still waiting to find out if they’ll charter for subsequent away games, a source said.”
The league’s chartered flight plan will cost $25 million per year over the next two seasons.
WNBA Issues in the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport
The Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport (where the Chicago Sky flew into on May 14) has been the center of the WNBA’s security concerns, regarding commercial flights.
There was considerable public outcry after an X video of Caitlin Clark arriving at the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport on May 2 with light security went viral.
The video, which was posted by Matt Howerton, currently has 2.4 million views.
In June 2023, Phoenix Mercury star player Brittney Griner was harassed in that same airport by a YouTube personality named Alex Stein, per ESPN.
On June 10, Stein posted a brief video clip of him yelling at Griner as she walked through the Dallas airport on X.
Later that day, Griner’s teammate Brianna Turner posted on X, “Player safety while traveling should be at the forefront. People following with cameras saying wild remarks is never acceptable. Excessive harassment. Our team nervously huddled in a corner unsure how to move about. We demand better.”
Turner is the same teammate that Reese quoted in her May 14 Instagram Story.
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