Oakland changes airport name to ‘San Francisco Bay Oakland International’ despite San Francisco trademark lawsuit

By CNN Newsource

Published May 9, 2024 8:36 pm

By Taylor Romine and Chimaine Pouteau, CNN

(CNN) — Oakland’s airport has changed its name from “Metropolitan Oakland International” to “San Francisco Bay Oakland International Airport” after a unanimous vote by the city’s Board of Port Commissioners on Thursday – despite a trademark lawsuit from neighboring San Francisco.

“With the new name, the Port aims to attract more nonstop destinations by boosting travelers’ geographic awareness of the airport’s location on the San Francisco Bay,” the Port of Oakland said in a news release. “This renaming is important to the Port’s broader efforts to strengthen and grow the airport as one of Oakland’s important economic engines.”

While the Oakland airport is changing its name, it will keep its three-letter code “OAK,” the release said.

The board approved a plan to rename the airport on April 11. Following that vote, the City of San Francisco – which owns a trademark on “San Francisco International Airport” – filed a lawsuit on April 18 to prevent the alleged infringement after it said it offered to work with Oakland on alternative names, the city attorney’s office said. The federal suit alleges Oakland plans to “intentionally and knowingly capitalize off of confusion.”

In Thursday’s news release, Port Commission President Barbara Leslie said the 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,” Leslie said.

On Tuesday, City Attorney of San Francisco David Chiu had urged the commissioners to reconsider the renaming, adding his office would otherwise move forward with the lawsuit.

The city plans to seek a preliminary injunction, a news release from the City Attorney said, alleging the name change “will very likely cause widespread confusion, mishaps, and economic loss for travelers.”

“The renaming plan appears intentionally designed to divert travelers who may be unfamiliar with Bay Area geography and lead them to believe OAK has a business relationship with SFO, which it does not,” the release said.

Following Thursday’s vote, City Attorney of San Francisco spokesperson Jen Kwart said in a statement, “It is disappointing that Oakland chose to ignore our multiple offers to collaborate on alternative names and avoid litigation. We have no choice but to move forward with next steps in our trademark lawsuit.”

The Port of Oakland said Thursday the name change aims to increase passenger growth as travelers may currently be unaware of the airport’s proximity to the region’s attractions, such as the San Francisco Bay Area’s universities, wine country, national laboratories and the cities of San Francisco and Berkeley.

“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,” Interim Director of Aviation Craig Simon said in the release. “This designation will let the world know who we serve.”