San Francisco files lawsuit against Oakland over airport name change
‘The renaming plan appears to be intentionally designed to divert visitors may not be familiar with the geography of the Bay Area’
San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu filed a federal complaint Thursday for trademark infringement signal to the City of Oakland regarding approved plans to rename Oakland International Airport to Oakland San Francisco Bay International Airport, claiming they harm San Francisco. Branding of the international airport.
The proposal to change the name from “Oakland International Airport” to “San Francisco Oakland Bay International Airport” was announced in late March, as l ‘the Globe reported. According to Oakland airport officials, the airport’s name often confuses travelers because it doesn’t convey the impression of how close the airport is to San Francisco. This ignorance has also been costly for major airlines and airport passengers, airport officials said. While officials said the airport will not change the airport code away from OAK or any of Oakland’s other visual brands, it will create an overall identity change.
However, San Francisco Airport and San Francisco officials quickly rejected the name. proposal, saying it would only confuse travelers due to confusion about the name of the San Francisco airport. Many travelers would also likely book wrongly because of the name change, constituting lost connections and a long travel distance between airports.
A back and forth between the cities ensued, with Oakland claiming the name was more geographic than anything else. However, the name change proved to be very unpopular across the Bay, with groups such as the NAACP and many tech companies coming out in opposition. As the April 11th vote by the Port of Oakland neared, Chiu warned them that they would be filing a lawsuit if the name change was approved.
Despite the impending lawsuit and the majority of Bay area residents and lawmakers being against the name change, the Port of Oakland went ahead and approved the new name last week in a unanimous vote. At least one airline, Azores Airlines, even began using the new name of the airport even though it hasn’t been made official yet.
“We are standing up for Oakland and the East Bay,” said Port Commission President Barbara Leslie in a statement. “This will boost inbound travelers’ geographic awareness of the airport by highlighting the airport’s location on the San Francisco Bay. This name will make it clear that OAK is the closest major airport, for 4.1 million people, three national laboratories, the top public university in the country, and California’s Wine Country.”
For the past week, Chiu and the city drafted a lawsuit, intending to file it this week. They proceeded to do so on Thursday, citing Oakland for trademark infringement, as well as being confusing for passengers and likely causing travel mishaps for passengers as well.
“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,” said City Attorney Chiu. “This new name will cause confusion and chaos for travelers, which will damage the travel industry for the entire region. We are already seeing at least one airline use the new name, indicating that SFO has already suffered economic harm. We want to see the entire Bay Area thrive as a tourist destination and expand our offerings to visitors, but the renaming is not a legal or practical way to go about it.”
“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. Renaming would be particularly confusing for international travelers who don’t speak or read English.”
SFO Airport Director Ivar C. Satero added, “After nearly a century of service, the San Francisco International Airport is an established brand that is instantly recognizable to travelers around the world. The proposed renaming of Oakland International Airport will have a detrimental impact on the passenger experience, creating confusion and frustration for travelers, especially those from foreign markets. For these reasons, we support this legal challenge and urge the Port of Oakland to find a solution that puts all Bay Area airport customers first.”
In a short statement, the Port of Oakland once again defended the name change and said that they would be defending it in court.
“OAK’s proposed renaming does not infringe upon SFO’s mark,” said the Port of Oakland. “We will vigorously defend our right to claim our spot on the San Francisco Bay.”
With a suit now filed in court and a second reading of the resolution and final vote scheduled to take place on May 9th, airport experts said to the Globe on Friday that Oakland now faces a huge challenge if they want to keep the name change.
“Every time they talk about the name change, they automatically mention that it is nothing like San Francisco’s name,” London-based airport and airport terminal expert Alistair Jones told the Globe Friday. “It’s the same every time. It’s not exactly a winning argument. Furthermore, trademark infringement between airports is not very common. Airports close to each other still try to create their own identities while advertising where they serve When Ontario split from the Los Angeles airport system a few years ago, they adopted the identity of serving the Inland Empire, while claiming that Los Angeles is only about an hour away. They have plenty of other, better options that won’t drive San Francisco crazy. In fact, they should have worked with them to get their own name. Oakland is wrong here and everyone but them seems to know it.
The second reading of the resolution and final vote will take place on May 9.