Flying with Alaska Airlines is about to get more comfortable.
10.05.2024 - 18:01 / travelandleisure.com / Ed Bastian / Delta
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. This is the first time a program like this is being implemented.
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.
«I'm just super excited for the players who have been in this league for a really long time and have really deserved this for years and years and years,» Clark told the Indianapolis Star. «I'm just excited, I'm thankful, at whatever point that it is, that it happens. It'll be great for us, it'll make recovery easier, it'll make travel easier, it just makes life a lot easier for a lot of people… I'm just very fortunate to come to this league and have this opportunity the first year that I'm here.»
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.
“We have been hard at work to transform the business and build a sustainable economic model to support charter flights for the long term,” WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said in a statement. “While we still have a lot of work to do to continue to execute our strategic plan, we feel confident that the time is now to institute a full charter program to demonstrate our commitment to leading with a player-first agenda.”
The program is expected to cost about $25 million per year for the next two seasons, ESPN noted.
Flying with Alaska Airlines is about to get more comfortable.
Online and offline travel agencies had faced a July 11 deadline: That’s when flyers buying American Airlines tickets on certain booking sites would have no longer been able to earn AAdvantage Miles.
Eurostar is considering adding more routes from London as it looks to buy 50 new trains.
New Delta Air Lines daily service to New York-JFK has potential to generate up to 46,000 passengers through Shannon Airport.
With just over a month to go before the Africa Hospitality Investment Forum (AHIF) opens its doors on 25th June, the government of Namibia has confirmed that the President of the Republic of Namibia, H.E. Dr. Nangolo Mbumba will headline the agenda. AHIF, which is known as the most influential annual gathering of hospitality industry investors, business leaders, government officials, bankers, and expert advisors on the African continent, typically welcomes delegates from over 50 countries for three days of high-level networking, formal business meetings and discussion of the all the latest trends and developments.
Attention, Delta SkyMiles members: Check your email.
Lena Wantjer joins ÀNI Private Resorts as VP of Sales, bringing her extensive experience from luxury and boutique hospitality to spearhead global sales strategies for exclusive, private retreats.
Delta Air Lines sure knows how to impress passengers.
Private aviation, despite its detractors, is the engine that drives business. In fact, Dublin Airport authorities recently dropped plans to limit private jets after corporate users said it would cause them to halt Irish expansion plans. Equally important, private aviation plays a critical role as a time machine for leisure flyers. UHNWs regularly jet between homes and vacation spots. However, flying privately also benefits occasional users.
Hopping between Gulf countries could soon be as easy as traveling through Europe's Schengen Area: just flash your passport at the entry point and seamlessly travel from one country to the next—no extra paper work required.
Having elite status can get you the finer things in life, and Delta’s latest promotion may just put you in reach.
Delta Air Lines is expecting a busy summer as it prepares to start rolling out its biggest-ever international schedule.