Oakland International Airport may add “San Francisco” to the airport’s name to attract more passengers, but its neighbor across the bay has slammed the potential rebranding. The Port of Oakland commission is scheduled to take up the issue at Thursday’s meeting. Oakland airport officials say travelers unfamiliar with the area will fly into San Francisco even if their destination is closer to the East Bay airport, and changing the name to San Francisco Bay-Oakland International Airport changes that. It is said that “Market research and interviews with partner airlines show that routes are not performing as well as they should due to a lack of geographic awareness, and airlines are reluctant to maintain Auckland routes or add new ones. ” said Craig Simon. The Port of Oakland’s interim aviation director said in a statement that the airport, officially known as Metropolitan Oakland International Airport, has lost 39 of the 54 new routes added between July 2008 and March 2024. Stated. Like many other large cities, the city is facing increased crime and the effects of losing the last professional sports team that called the city of 430,000 home. Last week, the Athletics announced that the team would leave Oakland after this season and temporarily play at a minor league park near Sacramento until a new stadium planned for Las Vegas is built. With the Athletics leaving Oakland after this season, the city, which was also home to the NFL’s Raiders, NBA’s Warriors, and NHL’s Seals, will be without a major sports team. San Francisco officials say the potential name change terrifies them. It will be confusing for travelers, especially those flying in from overseas. San Francisco Airport Director Ivor C. Satello said he was “deeply concerned” about the potential for customer disruption and reduced service. San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu on Tuesday threatened to sue Oakland officials, arguing that pursuing the name change would infringe on the city’s San Francisco International Airport trademark. The city of San Francisco has “held these registrations for so long that they cannot be contested under federal law,” Chiu wrote in a letter to various Oakland officials. San Francisco resident Helen Han said she did not agree with the name change. This is because travelers, especially those visiting the Bay Area for the first time, can confuse the two. “It’s going to cause a lot of disruption for people traveling to either Oakland or San Francisco,” Han said. “If you were visiting San Francisco for the first time, I can imagine it would be really confusing (in deciding) which airport you need to go to,” Aaron Peskin, chairman of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, said last week about the name change. , and submitted a resolution to the Port Commission asking it to reject it. State Sen. Scott Wiener, who represents San Francisco, said on the TV show “X” that airports should not “cut and paste” San Francisco’s name. “I love Oakland, but Oakland is Oakland. This is not San Francisco,” he wrote. “Find another way to turn things around.” However, another user on X pointed out that San Francisco’s airport is actually located in the San Mateo County city of Millbrae. One person joked: Would you like to change the name of the 49ers to #SantaClara?” The San Francisco 49ers play at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, a suburb of San Jose and approximately 72 miles south of San Francisco.
Oakland International Airport may add “San Francisco” to its name to attract more passengers, but its neighbors across the bay have slammed the potential rebranding.
The Port of Oakland commission is scheduled to take up the issue at Thursday’s meeting.
Oakland airport officials say travelers unfamiliar with the area will fly into San Francisco, even if their destination is closer to the East Bay airport. Changing the name to San Francisco Bay Oakland International Airport would change things, they say. His three-letter code OAK for the airport remains unchanged.
“Market research and interviews with partner airlines show that routes are not performing as well as they should due to a lack of geographic awareness, and airlines are reluctant to maintain or add new routes in Auckland. ” said Craig Simon of the Port Authority. Auckland’s interim aviation director said in a statement.
He said the airport, officially known as Metropolitan Auckland International Airport, had lost 39 of the 54 new routes added between July 2008 and March 2024.
Oakland airport officials said the city, like many other major cities, is facing increased crime and the effects of losing the last professional sports team that called the city of 430,000 people home. , is considering a name change. Last week, the Athletics announced that the team would leave Oakland after this season and temporarily play at a minor league park near Sacramento until a new stadium planned for Las Vegas is built.
With the Athletics leaving Oakland after this season, the city, which was also home to the NFL’s Raiders, NBA’s Warriors, and NHL’s Seals, will be without a major sports team.
The potential name change has horrified San Francisco officials, who say it would confuse tourists, especially those flying in from overseas. San Francisco Airport Director Ivor C. Satello said he was “deeply concerned” about the potential for customer disruption and reduced service. San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu on Tuesday threatened to sue if Oakland officials pursue the name change, arguing that it would infringe on the city’s trademark for “San Francisco International Airport.”
San Francisco has “held these registrations for so long that they cannot be contested under federal law,” Chiu said in a letter to various Oakland officials.
San Francisco resident Helen Han said she doesn’t agree with the name change because tourists, especially those visiting the Bay Area for the first time, could confuse the two.
“It’s going to cause a lot of confusion for people traveling to Oakland or San Francisco,” Han said. “I can imagine myself if you were visiting San Francisco for the first time, you would be really confused (in deciding) which airport you need to fly to.” ”
Last week, San Francisco Board of Supervisors Chairman Aaron Peskin opposed the name change and filed a resolution asking the Port Commission to veto it.
State Sen. Scott Wiener, who represents San Francisco, said on the TV show “X” that airports should not “cut and paste” San Francisco’s name.
“I love Oakland, but Oakland is Oakland. This is not San Francisco. Find another way to turn things around,” he wrote.
However, other users of X pointed out that San Francisco’s airport is actually located in Millbrae, a city in San Mateo County.
One person quipped, “When are the 49ers going to change their name?” #SantaClara. ” The San Francisco 49ers play at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, a suburb of San Jose and about 72 miles south of San Francisco.
