WNBA Teams Can Now Take Charter Flights. There's a Catch

Allowance made after Griner harassed at airport comes with limitations on where service flies to
By Newser Editors,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 16, 2023 9:36 AM CDT
WNBA Teams Can Now Take Charter Flights. There's a Catch
Phoenix Mercury center Brittney Griner responds to questions during a news conference after the team's WNBA basketball game against the Dallas Wings, Wednesday, June 7, 2023, in Arlington, Texas.   (AP Photo/Tony Gutier)

WNBA players can choose not to mix with the rest of the population anymore when flying to away games. League sources tell ESPN that teams will now be able to use a public charter service called JSX to book their flights, following an incident last weekend in which Phoenix Mercury star Brittney Griner was harassed at a Dallas airport. Yahoo Sports notes that most other major sports leagues travel via private plane, and that WNBA players have complained of everything from discomfort in trying to squeeze into tight seats on commercial planes to flight delays before games.

The site also adds a "sort of" to this new allowance, citing the fact that JSX doesn't offer flights to many of the cities that WNBA teams need to fly into. JSX can tack additional flights onto its public schedule, but there's a fee for that—which the WNBA is prohibiting. (More WNBA stories.)

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