Several weeks ago, plans were announced for Oakland Airport to have its name modified. There’s now a major update, as this name change is official, despite the city of San Francisco filing a lawsuit to block this.
San Francisco Bay Oakland International Airport name now official
Metropolitan Oakland International Airport has officially been renamed San Francisco Bay Oakland International Airport. The airport is maintaining its airport code, OAK, and all other branding.
As a reminder, this is the second airport in the San Francisco Bay Area, after San Francisco International Airport (SFO). While the airport is located in Oakland, that’s not far from San Francisco, and as you’d expect, airport officials have been wanting to capitalize on that.
The Oakland Board of Port Commissioners has voted unanimously to change the name of the airport, so the changes have now been implemented. You’ll see that “Metropolitan” has been removed from the name, and has been replaced by “San Francisco Bay.”
What was the logic for this change? According to the Port of Oakland:
- The Port of Oakland constantly heard from local travelers about their desire for more direct flights to more domestic and global destinations
- To make this happen, travelers who live outside of the San Francisco Bay Area need to learn that OAK is located on the San Francisco Bay, and close to regional destinations
- The lack of geographic awareness among inbound travelers means that flights haven’t performed as well as they could; around half of international travelers and around one-third of domestic travelers aren’t aware of the airport’s “amazing location” (it’s not clear if that means they don’t know where Oakland is, or just that they don’t find the location to be “amazing”)
- The belief is that by adding “San Francisco Bay” to the beginning of the name, demand for travel to the airport will increase, and more airlines will be attracted
Here’s how Port Commission President Barbara Leslie describes these changes:
“Our Board came to these discussions with a shared love of Oakland and a desire to see our city and airport thrive. Since our initial vote, the Port has met with dozens of community leaders and stakeholders and heard their concerns. We are moving forward with a commitment to honoring our past while building a stronger, more inclusive future.”
Meanwhile here’s how Interim Director of Aviation Craig Simon describes these changes:
“The convenience and ease of traveling through OAK won’t change with our name. OAK is the closest major airport to 58 percent of the Bay Area population. The combined population of the counties closest to OAK is 4.1 million compared with 1.5 million in San Francisco and San Mateo counties. This designation will let the world know who we serve.”
This name change is now being litigated
In April, the city of San Francisco filed a lawsuit regarding an Oakland Airport name change, suggesting that this name change violates San Francisco Airport’s trademark rights, and could cause confusion among travelers, due to the use of “San Francisco” and “International Airport” together. Per the lawsuit:
“We had hoped Oakland would come to its senses, but their refusal to collaborate on an acceptable alternative name leaves us no choice but to file a lawsuit to protect SFO’s trademark. Travelers will very likely be confused and book tickets to the unintended airport, thinking that the ‘San Francisco Bay Oakland International Airport’ is SFO and arrive in the wrong place.”
In response to the lawsuit from the city of San Francisco, Oakland has filed a lawsuit of its own. The city is asking the court to rule that the name doesn’t infringe on San Francisco’s trademark in its airport name. Oakland disputes that the new name creates confusion with consumers, as travelers will understand that the San Francisco Bay Area can contain more than one airport.
Oakland is asking for a declaratory judgment, and isn’t seeking financial compensation or damages in its filings. Per the countersuit:
“The San Francisco’s City Attorney’s decision to pursue litigation is an attempt to stop consumer education, prevent expanded air travel options for Bay Area residents and visitors, and is a misguided use of San Francisco taxpayer dollars. OAK is committed to enhancing its airline routes and increasing competition for the benefit of all of San Francisco Bay Area’s visitors and residents, including those residing in the City and County of San Francisco. We stand ready and willing to partner with SFO to increase choices for travelers and invite any productive dialogue to this end.”
“Changing ‘Metropolitan’ to ‘San Francisco Bay’ in Oakland Airport’s name accurately describes OAK’s geographic location on the Bay and presents the airport as an additional choice for travel into the San Francisco Bay Area. SFO’s lawsuit is a disappointing and anticompetitive effort to discourage competition and choice, and we are confident the Court will agree.”
My take on Oakland Airport’s name change
I totally see where Oakland Airport leadership is coming from here, and it’s hardly the first airport that has struggled with geographic awareness among travelers.
For example, in the New York area, United Airlines has Newark Airport (EWR) as its primary hub, but we’ve seen the airline try (unsuccessfully) to expand to Kennedy Airport (JFK), as management at the airline felt they were losing out on many travelers by not flying to the airport. That’s despite the endless ad campaigns that the airline ran for years, emphasizing that for most travelers, Newark is just as convenient as Kennedy.
Now, some airports have tried to take some rather extreme liberties with their naming. For example, in Florida you have Melbourne Orlando International Airport (MLB), which is around 70 miles from Orlando. Obviously the airport is primarily trying to serve that region for cost conscious travelers, who are willing to drive a long distance to get a cheaper flight. The airport has even been sued over its name.
In the case of Oakland Airport, the airport isn’t unreasonably far from San Francisco, and there are absolutely situations where someone could reasonably book a flight to Oakland when the plan is to travel to San Francisco. So I’d put this more in line with Newark Airport than Melbourne Airport in that regard.
Now, I do think it would be more accurate to have the name be “Oakland San Francisco Bay,” rather than “San Francisco Bay Oakland.”
I’d argue the biggest issue for Oakland Airport isn’t the name, but rather how the airport is categorized by online travel agencies and other flight search tools. If you go to Google Flights and type in “New York,” you’ll see flights to Kennedy, LaGuardia, and Newark. If you type in “Miami,” you’ll see flights to Fort Lauderdale and Miami. Yet if you type in “San Francisco,” you’ll only see flights to San Francisco, and not Oakland.
I’m not sure who has to be convinced/bribed to update that, but it seems like updating the city search to include Oakland would be the biggest game changer for the airport. That would allow people to more directly compare flights between Oakland and San Francisco, rather than specifically having to seek out Oakland flights.
With the way that the airport has been renamed, I imagine that it will now show up in more searches, for those typing in “San Francisco.”
Bottom line
Metropolitan Oakland International Airport has been renamed San Francisco Bay Oakland International Airport, to increase awareness of the airport’s geography. Airport executives believe the airport has missed out on a lot of traffic due to people not being aware of the airport’s proximity to San Francisco, and the goal is to capitalize on that. This change has now been implemented, so you should start to consistently see the new branding.
However, this name change is still being litigated. The city of San Francisco opposes this change, and has filed a lawsuit regarding this. Oakland has filed its own countersuit, so we’ll see how this plays out.
What do you make of Oakland Airport being renamed?
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