Coastal rivals Oakland and San Francisco are embarking on a new era of rivalry.
For decades, the rivalry between the “City by the Bay” and its more down-to-earth neighbors had centered on the region’s professional football and major league teams, but with the Raiders out of Oakland and the Athletics poised to follow suit, it seemed the two cities needed something new to contend with.
I’m heading to the airport.
San Francisco on Tuesday asked a federal judge for a preliminary injunction to block Oakland’s airport from using its newly chosen catch-all name, “San Francisco Bay-Oakland International Airport.” Despite the new name, the East Bay airport will keep the same OAK airport code and “I Fly OAK” logo, and its runways will continue to run along the eastern side of San Francisco Bay.
San Francisco argues in court filings that the airport’s new name is a trademark infringement, confuses travelers and is a cover-up to attract customers to SFO.
“Oakland Airport serves many of the same Bay Area travelers as San Francisco International Airport, but in much smaller numbers,” San Francisco’s lawyers wrote in court documents. “What better way to attract new customers, service providers and airlines than by adopting an imitation brand?”
The Port of Oakland fired back in a news release this week, saying San Francisco is simply “trying to wipe Oakland off the map.”
“This is not, and never has been, about the Port Authority or confusion,” Port of Oakland attorney Mary Richardson said in a statement. “This is about raising awareness of the options travelers have when traveling across the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area.”
The fight began in the spring when the Oakland Port Commission voted to change the name of Oakland International Airport to the more inclusive San Francisco Bay-Oakland International Airport.
Port Commission Chairwoman Barbara Leslie said at the time that the move was an effort to help travelers better understand the location of the airport, which opened in September 1927 in Oakland and is best known as the site of Amelia Earhart’s ill-fated around-the-world flight.
However, San Francisco International Airport, which has been in operation since May 1927, quickly opposed the name change, citing confusion. Days after the Oakland Port Commission passed the new name in April, the city of San Francisco filed suit in federal court.
San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu said in a statement this week that the airport’s rebranding has led to more travelers booking flights to Oakland at SFO, after digital assistants and ride-sharing services directed some travelers to the wrong airport.
Chiu said he had spoken with Oakland officials to try to come up with an alternative name but was unsuccessful.
“San Francisco has invested millions of dollars into making SFO the world-class airport it is today. We’ve built a great brand that we need to protect,” he said. “Oakland has the Oakland International Airport trademark. They should use that and distance themselves from the San Francisco brand.”
In a statement, Richardson accused San Francisco of stifling competition and trying to make SFO the only airport serving the Bay Area: “This is not the case, and OAK will continue to fight aggressively to secure its position in the San Francisco Bay.”