Soaring And Scoring: WNBA All Onboard With Delta Airlines Expanded Alliance
Monday, August 19, 2024 at 04:43PM By Barry Janoff
August 19, 2024: Calling it a “commitment to engage with and support women's sports," the WNBA today unveiled a multi-year partnership naming Delta Airlines the league’s “official airline partner.”
This agreement builds on Delta’s existing WNBA charter program relationship and is part of the airline’s “ongoing focus on women’s athletics.”
Earlier this season, Delta expanded its WNBA charter program relationship as the league introduced a full charter program for the 2024 season. The WNBA said it would commit $50 million over the next two years to provide full-time charter flight service for its teams during the season, according to commissioner Cathy Engelbert.
Under the expanded multi-year agreement, Delta now carries all 12 of the league’s teams throughout the regular season and playoffs.
Financial terms of the new pact were not released.
“Delta Air Lines shares the league’s commitment to excellence and innovation and is a dedicated partner in the work to uplift and empower women’s sports,” Engelbert said via the league.
“As an airline partner of the WNBA, this partnership not only elevates the travel experience for the players, but also underscores Delta and the WNBA’s shared dedication to enhancing the growth and visibility of women’s sports.”
According to Englebert, “With Delta’s support, we are eager to bring the WNBA to new heights and connect with fans in meaningful ways.”
As part of the alliance, Delta said it would “leverage elevated, travel-related storytelling opportunities through WNBA media, including broadcast, digital, print and social media.”
Delta will also have opportunities to promote the WNBA and its players’ off-the-court travel stories through digital and social media networks.
Delta said the WNBA agreement “aligns with Delta's continuing commitment to engage with and support women's sports, as the airline increasingly focuses on championing and investing in women’s athletics.”
Delta is the official airline of the National Women’s Soccer League; the official airline of Team USA for Beijing 2022, Paris 2024, Milan Cortina 2026 and LA2; and has alliances with women golfers include Nelly Korda, Rose Zhang and Michelle Wie West.
“We’re proud to partner with the WNBA, where every game is a testament to our shared values of teamwork and perseverance,” Delta CEO Ed Bastian said via the carrier.
“We look forward to serving these incredible athletes on their journeys and furthering Delta’s support of women’s athletics.”
This past May, the WNBA unveiled a full league-wide charter program operated by Delta Air Lines that it said marked a “significant milestone in the WNBA’s history and is a result of the successful execution of the league’s strategic business transformation over the past few years.”
“We are thrilled to announce the launch of a full charter program as soon as practical for the 2024 and 2025 seasons, a testament to the continued growth of the WNBA,” Engelbert at the time. “We have been hard at work to transform the business and build a sustainable economic model to support charter flights for the long term.
"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.”
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