Oakland International Airport is trying on a new name again, after being forced to give up the idea of becoming San Francisco Bay Oakland International Airport. That resulted in a lawsuit by San Francisco that is ongoing.
But Oakland isn’t giving up on its goal of reminding travelers that SFO is not the only big airport in the Bay Area, and that, in fact, OAK is just as close to downtown San Francisco as SFO is, and depending on traffic, sometimes a quicker ride. The goal is to attract more travelers and flights to the field.
San Francisco charged that the proposed name would confuse people who might go to the wrong airport and miss flights, or buy tickets to the ‘wrong’ destination, and that it would violate SFO’s trademark rights. Oakland’s new solution? Flip the names and re-brand as Oakland San Francisco Bay International Airport.
Oakland’s Director of Aviation Craig Simon told ABC News that Oakland has spent about $150,000 on the project, mostly for signage changes and marketing, of which he said “Absolutely, it has been worth it. We have gotten a lot of coverage.”
