SEATTLE — Last week, WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert surprised many, including several players and a few general managers, when she abruptly announced the league would provide charter flights to teams for the 2024 and 2025 seasons.

Initially, the news drew widespread praise, then the celebrations turned to criticism following a seemingly clunky rollout in which just two road teams flew charter this week.

The Minnesota Lynx flew charter to Seattle for Tuesday’s regular-season opener against the Storm, but returned home the next day on a commercial flight. The Indiana Fever took a private plane to and from their opener at Connecticut.

New York Liberty and former Storm star Breanna Stewart expressed displeasure with the WNBA’s charter program and said the Liberty rode a charter bus to their game at Washington.

“2 out of 5 WNBA teams traveling today are on WNBA charters — and that’s a win. It could be a bigger one if the W allowed teams who were not offered League charters to secure their own until a full 12 team solution is ready,” Stewart wrote on Sunday on her social-media accounts.

On Thursday, a WNBA spokesperson confirmed every team will fly charter to and from road games starting Tuesday.

“As the league previously announced, we would be phasing in the program at the start of the season and can share that beginning (Tuesday) all teams will be flying charter to games,” the league said in a statement.

That’s great news for the WNBA, but somewhat unfortunate timing for the Storm, which won’t have the use of charter flights during the start of their three-game road trip that begins 6:30 p.m. Friday against the Lynx.

“I know they’re still figuring some stuff out,” Storm guard Sami Whitcomb said. “Hopefully we can get some (charter flights) before we’re too deep into the season. But obviously it’s amazing no matter what. And I’m just excited that we’re at a point where that that’s now. We’re present where it’s no longer a future thing and it’s happening.”

The Storm flew commercial to Minneapolis and will fly commercial for Sunday’s game in Washington D.C. against the Mystics.

Before the season, the WNBA allowed the use of charter flights to teams playing back-to-back games, which explains why the Storm are taking a private plane to New York for Monday’s matchup with the Liberty.

The Storm are working with the WNBA on arrangements to fly charter for its return to Seattle before Wednesday’s home against the Indiana Fever.

“I know the league is doing a great job of trying to come to solutions for every team,” Storm coach Noelle Quinn said. “So, if we get it, great. If not, we’ve planned our travel accordingly and we will be ready either way.”

The implementation of the charter-flight program, which Engelbert said would cost $25 million per season, is considered a revolutionary development for the 27-year-old league that’s expanding to 14 teams in 2026 and expected to engage in pivotal Collective Bargaining Agreement talks with the player’s union following the 2024 season.

“It’ll be incredible,” said Whitcomb, a mother of two young kids, when asked about the benefits of the charter program. “It’s going to be so good that we will be able to get back earlier from these road trips. Instead of spending a whole off day as your travel day and getting back later, you’re back sooner with your family.

“And if families travel with you (on road trips), then obviously it’s so much easier to charter.”

The use of WNBA charters can’t come soon enough for the Storm (0-1) considering they play 10 of their first 15 games on the road. It’s a daunting start for a team that dropped its opener 83-70 against Minnesota (1-0) on Tuesday.

“We have a lot of experience in the locker room to navigate (road trips),” Quinn said. “We understand that if we want to be a competitive team and a team playing in the postseason, that these moments matter, and you have to take care of road games as well.

“We have to find ways to motivate each other, navigate storms and weather storms. We’re going to get battle tested early and for this group in particular, I think it’s a great thing because we need to work out some kinks. I like the fact that we can do it in a tough environment.”

Note

Rookie guard Nika Muhl is questionable for Friday’s game because of visa issues. The Croatian native did not play in Tuesday’s opener.

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