The buses that transported the team from Mohegan Sun stayed at the Connecticut airport until the Liberty’s plane took off. Their flights were on time despite thunderstorms wreaking havoc on air travel last week but if there had been any cancellations, New York had its usual backup plan. Players sat quietly by themselves, checking cell phones or listening to music while others chatted with teammates. Bradley isn’t a very busy airport and all the players were able to relax - even Stewart, who won four national championships in college at nearby UConn. The team spent about 50 minutes in the Connecticut airport waiting to board a flight to Atlanta. Sometimes they get lucky, as the pair did Wednesday, when they were escorted through the priority line by a Delta representative. Jones, who is from the Bahamas, and Marine Johannes, who is French, usually have to go through regular security lines. With tickets in hand, players headed straight to security - but here’s the catch: Though most had either TSA precheck or Clear status, foreign-born players don’t have that option. A Delta representative met them with all the bag tags and tickets. Once New York’s 33-person travel party got to Bradley Airport in Connecticut, it was a seamless process with the Liberty operations staff efficiently unloading the bus in less than 3 minutes.

There are a few perks for players, but even some of those have a catch. She wasn’t so fortunate on the second part of the trip - the four-plus hour flight from Atlanta to Las Vegas. Stewart, a Diamond Medallion member on Delta, was upgraded to first class for the trip from Hartford to Atlanta because of her status on the airline. “It’s by no means a great way for us to travel that way with a game on Tuesday and then another game Thursday.” I tried to get upgraded to first class to have more room but the flight was full,” said Jones, who had to duck to even get on the plane. Now they can upgrade to first class - on their own dimes. Not to mention 6-10 Han Xu, who wasn’t on the road trip because she was playing with the Chinese national team in the Asia Cup. That helps, but taller players like Stewart and her 6-6 teammate Jonquel Jones still find themselves in tight spaces sometimes. Players are in comfort seats or economy-plus to ensure extra leg room, per the CBA.

Stewart and her teammates don’t fly economy, but the seats are still tight.

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