The WNBA is undergoing a revolution. After years of consistent demand, the WNBA athletes are going to match their NBA counterparts in terms of travel. All teams will be using charter flights from May 21st onwards. However, two teams the Indiana Fever and Minnesota Lynx have already used the newly introduced services. This had the Seattle Storm veteran being questioned on the difference.

Sami Whitcomb was present during an interview on ‘TJ Sports Queens’ on Friday, days after their Minnesota Lynx loss in their season opener. Amid a flurry of questions, Whitcomb was asked about the absence of charter flights for the Storm. The 35-year-old guard expressed a wider view, rationalizing the difference in treatment. 

“Yeah, I mean look we have charter flights. I think that’s a massive win. And I think we should be congratulating everyone that’s been a part of making that a reality. That’s our current present situation. So that’s super exciting. Yes, we want everyone to have them for every games right now, sure. But I think we have to accept that maybe that’s not as easy as you know we would like it to be,” Whitcomb stated.

For now, the two teams that used charter flights are the Caitlin Clark’s Indiana Fever and the Minnesota Lynx. Lynx was able to avail of the services on the way to the game but not back. Caitlin Clark and Co. on the other hand flew charter to and from for their season opener against Connecticut while the rookie’s contemporary in the Storm, Nika Muhl, the Huskie star and 14th pick, has yet to experience the luxury, leaving the veteran to await the system to settle soon. 

“We have to give some grace for that and allow for the week or two… that it’s going to take for it to be properly rolled out. I think sure selfishly we all wanted to be one or two charter flights that were allocated. But I’m just really excited that I’m in the WNBA during… you know the time when charter flights is going to be the norm. We obviously didn’t charter over here but our flight was you know a normal flight to many. Hopefully by the time we’re flying back from New York we’re on a charter and this is all behind us,” Whitcomb concluded. 

And, it’s not too late before Whitcomb gets the desired treatment.

When will Nika Muhl get the desired treatment?

The WNBA will introduce charter flights for all teams by May 21. The league will commit around $50 million over the course of the next two years to provide its teams with charter flights. This new move will help the teams avoid long queues and will also provide safety in travel to the star players.

The Seattle Storm will play their next game against the Washington Mystics on Monday but will have to fly commercial. From there, the team will take private plane to New York on Tuesday to play against Liberty since the league has alloted special planes for teams playing back to back. Since the clash falls on the 20th, Storm’s further road games from there on will be catered to by charters, meaning Sky vs Storm on the 28th will mark the first. 

“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,” WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert had said and the radical vision is now mere days away.