SAN FRANCISCO– The Oakland International Airport may be adding “San Francisco” to its name to attract more passengers, but neighbors across the bay have rejected the potential rebranding.
The Port of Oakland Board of Commissioners will discuss the issue at its meeting Thursday.
Oakland airport officials say travelers unfamiliar with the region are flying into San Francisco airport even if their destination is closer to the East Bay airport. Changing the name to San Francisco Bay Oakland International Airport will change that, they say. The airport’s three-letter code OAK would not change.
“Market research and interviews with airline partners have shown that routes are not performing as well as they should have due to the lack of geographic awareness, making airlines reluctant to maintain and add new routes in Oakland,” said Craig Simon, port director of Oakland. Oakland’s interim aviation director, in a statement.
He said the airport, officially known as the Metropolitan Oakland International Airport, has lost 39 of the 54 new routes added between July 2008 and March 2024.
But the possibility of a name change has horrified San Francisco officials, who say it will confuse travelers, especially those coming from abroad. San Francisco Airport Director Ivar C. Satero said they are “deeply concerned” about the potential for customer confusion and poor service. San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu on Tuesday threatened to sue Oakland officials if they pursue the name change, arguing it would violate the city’s trademark on “San Francisco International Airport.”
San Francisco “has retained these records for so long that they have become indisputable under federal law,” Chiu wrote in a letter to several Oakland officials.
“Consumers will misunderstand the physical location of Oakland International Airport (i.e. that it is in San Francisco rather than Oakland) or mistakenly believe that there is a formal relationship or connection between the two airports that does not exist,” he added to it.
Aaron Peskin, chairman of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, filed a resolution last week opposing the name change and asking the Port Commission to reject it.
State Senator Scott Wiener, who represents San Francisco, said on X that the airport should not be “cutting corners.” & paste the name of San Francisco.
“I love Oakland, but Oakland is Oakland. It’s not San Francisco,” he wrote. “Please find another way to turn things around.”
But other users on
One person joked: “When are we going to rename the 49ers? #SantaClara.” The San Francisco 49ers play at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, which is located just outside of San Jose and about 45 miles south of San Francisco.