England Women’s economy class flight to New Zealand for the World Cup has been described as a “difficult decision” by the Rugby Union.
The Red Roses are favorites to win the title and begin their nearly 30-hour journey on Friday.
The England team traveled in business class to the Rugby World Cup 2019 in Japan.
The RFU said that with the women’s side making losses, “we have to make difficult decisions about what we can invest in”.
England’s journey begins on Friday and they arrive in New Zealand at lunchtime on Sunday, with light training currently scheduled for two days ahead of full training on Thursday.
The Red Roses are the number one team in the world with a record 25 Test wins in a row earlier in September and will play their first World Cup match against Fiji on October 8.
In 2019, England became the first women’s XV team to be offered full-time contracts.
The RFU said it was “proud of the progress we have made”, adding that team management had decided to invest in “additional physios, performance coaches, a nutritionist and a full-time psychologist… rather than going out of business”.
The decision was made after England captain Sarah Hunter defended the halving of the team’s match fees for the warm-up games of the World Cup.
In 2018, British Airways announced that it would fly the England men’s and women’s national teams to their respective world championships. within the framework of partnership with RFS.
However, that was before New Zealand was named as the host of the women’s tournament, with the RFU saying it had decided to use an “alternative carrier” because British Airways “does not currently fly directly” to the country.
It is understood that the Red Roses players have been asked not to post about their flights on social media, citing that the chosen airline is not an official partner of England Rugby.
In July, the English men flew business class to Australia with British Airways for their summer tour.
