Why An Airport Name Change In San Francisco Is Being Challenged

After years of airlines declining to start new routes to Metropolitan Oakland International Airport (OAK) near San Francisco—or pulling the plug on existing, underperforming routes—the airport decided to change its name while keeping the OAK code. San Francisco Bay Oakland International better reflects its location on the east side of San Francisco Bay, OAK says, which adds that airlines, especially international carriers, repeatedly cited a lack of geographic awareness among passengers when deciding to drop routes or to not start new services.

But the name change, often a routine process for an airport, has led to a contentious confrontation with the city of San Francisco, owner of San Francisco International Airport (SFO), the busy United Airlines hub that sits on the west side of the bay. San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu has filed a federal trademark infringement lawsuit against the Port of Oakland, which runs OAK, maintaining the new name, San Francisco Bay Oakland International Airport, will create significant confusion among the traveling public because it is too similar to SFO’s name.

Further, he argues, OAK (the code remains the same) is trying to improperly piggyback on SFO’s global reputation, built over nearly 100 years, to lure airlines and passengers across the bay.

SFO director Ivar Satero says he was informed on March 29 by the Port of Oakland that a statement would be released in 30 min. announcing the port’s intention to rename the airport. According to the lawsuit, Satero expressed serious concern about potential confusion among airlines and passengers and he asked for more information. He requested that the port meet with officials from the city of San Francisco to discuss the matter; Oakland officials declined. The name change eventually took effect on May 9 despite repeated public pleas from San Francisco officials, including Mayor London Breed, for Oakland to hold off.

BLINDSIDED

“This completely blindsided us,” Chiu told ATW. “We asked on multiple occasions to simply have a conversation, to engage with them, to understand what are their business interests and what are they hoping to achieve. To see if we could reach a creative, amicable solution that would work for both airports. They rebuffed us at every step of the way. Litigation was our last resort. Their refusal to engage with us unfortunately left us with no choice.”

Chiu added that SFO was “concerned about immense confusion and chaos for travelers, particularly those for whom English is not their first language. From our perspective, SFO has already suffered economic harm as Oakland is trying to profit from San Francisco’s investments of billions of dollars over [decades] in SFO’s reputation and services.”

OAK director Craig Simon, on the other hand, has noted OAK’s main runway is “really right off of the bay. Aircraft flying in and out of Oakland depart and arrive over San Francisco Bay.”

Simon told ATW there was a lack of awareness “east of the Mississippi” in the US and internationally that OAK, 20 mi. from San Francisco’s financial district, is a Bay Area airport. SFO and OAK are 30 mi. driving distance apart.

Simon added airlines have had difficulty maintaining routes to the airport and were reluctant to add new routes, citing a lack of geographic awareness. From July 2008 to March 2024, OAK added 54 new routes, but only 15 of those remain, and six pre-existing routes have also been cut, meaning OAK lost 45 routes over a nearly 16-year period, according to Simon.

SFO handled 50.2 million passengers in 2023, up 18.7% year-over-year. OAK handled 11.2 million passengers in 2023, up 0.8% compared to 2022. Southwest Airlines is the dominant carrier at OAK and has endorsed the name change.

Oakland officials point to numerous metropolitan areas across the US and around the world that have multiple airports using the name of the same city, including Chicago, Dallas, London, New York, Tokyo and Washington DC. Port of Oakland attorney Mary Richardson, who has vowed to vigorously defend against San Francisco’s lawsuit, has said the new name “accurately describes OAK’s geographic location on the bay and presents the airport as an additional choice for travel into the San Francisco Bay Area. [San Francisco’s] lawsuit is a disappointing and anticompetitive effort to discourage competition and choice, and we are confident the court will agree.”

Chiu counters by pointing out what he sees as the differences between the SFO-OAK situation and other metro areas where multiple airports use the city’s name. In many instances, airports using the same name are managed by the same airport authority, he said, adding OAK’s new name implies a business relationship between OAK and SFO that does not exist. Chicago O’Hare and Midway; New York John F. Kennedy and LaGuardia; and Washington Dulles and Reagan National are run by the same airport authorities.

In the case of Washington, Chiu noted that Baltimore/Washington (BWI), which is owned and managed by the state of Maryland, does not lead with Washington in its name and that Dulles and National, both run by the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, have distinct brands known globally. “You’ve got Dulles International Airport versus Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport versus BWI Airport,” Chiu said. “All three of those airports are quite busy. Their names are very distinct. So, it’s not like they all start off with Washington DC International Airport.”

He added SFO has used “San Francisco International Airport” or “San Francisco Airport” for almost its entire history dating back to 1927. “The first date of use of the trademark was 1954, and we’ve had the trademark for so long that it is considered incontestable under federal law,” Chiu said.

“The trademark legal standard for an infringement case is whether there’s a clear similarity and likely confusion because of a proposed name. And we certainly think that there is a clear similarity between San Francisco International Airport and San Francisco Bay Oakland International Airport.”

ROCKFORD EXAMPLE

Other airports in the US have changed their names to better inform airlines and travelers where they are located. For example, Rockford International Airport (RFD) in Illinois, located about 60 mi. from O’Hare, formally changed its name to Chicago Rockford International Airport in 2005.

“From a marketing and search optimization standpoint, you’ll be able to get the recognition of the region and when you search for [Chicago] air service, we come up,” RFD executive director Zack Oakley told ATW.

Oakley said there was never any pushback from the Chicago Department of Aviation, which runs O’Hare and Midway, but noted RFD was not a significant threat to take passenger service away from the big Chicago airports. Currently, only LCC Allegiant Air offers scheduled commercial service from RFD, serving eight destinations.

But Oakley believes the name change has played a large role in RFD becoming a global cargo airport. Emirates SkyCargo has operated Boeing 777 freighter flights to RFD. Menzies Aviation, a ground handler serving more than 250 airports globally, occupies a 50,000 sq. ft. facility at the airport to provide cargo handling for both scheduled and chartered international freighter flights.

United Parcel Service (UPS) has long operated cargo service from the airport. Other freighter operators serving RFD in recent years include Amazon and Atlas Air.

Using Chicago in the name “has helped us” develop as a cargo airport, Oakley said. “When we’re talking throughout the world, when you say ‘Chicago Rockford,’ people actually know where Rockford is … [The name] does help us really identify the regional connection into that [Chicago] marketplace.”

LOS ANGELES EXAMPLE

San Francisco could point south to the Los Angeles region, which is served by multiple airports, but only Los Angeles International (LAX) uses Los Angeles in its title. Ontario International Airport (ONT), located around 60 mi. east of LAX, would appear to be a prime candidate to add Los Angeles to its name because the airport is continually challenged by perceptions that it is located in Canada.

ONT spokesperson Steve Lambert told ATW there was “no interest in connecting the ONT brand with LA,” noting the airport serves the Inland Empire region of southern California with a population of 4.7 million people. The airport’s branding tagline is “SoCal, So Easy.”

Regarding confusion about the airport’s location, Lambert added, “Our approach has been to lean into that in a lighthearted but strategic way—on social media and elsewhere. We believe these targeted digital efforts have significantly reduced the ‘Ontario is in Canada’ narrative, while reinforcing ours as a distinctly standalone brand.”

In response to an inquiry on whether LAX would object to a regional airport adopting Los Angeles as part of its name, Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA), the city government department that runs LAX, said it “has long-established legal rights” to Los Angeles as part of its airport brand.

“For decades, LAWA has guarded its brand to protect the public’s safety and interests from inaccurate information and unintentional confusion,” LAWA said. “Los Angeles World Airports is not aware of any airport not owned by the city seeking to use Los Angeles as part of its name. Should that occur, LAWA would evaluate the name use and determine our response accordingly.”

Meanwhile, Chiu holds out hope that a solution can be reached regarding OAK’s new name. The city of San Francisco has agreed to a pre-trial, judge-supervised mediation with the Port of Oakland to try to find a compromise before the case goes to trial. “We are absolutely supportive of Oakland expanding their services and doing well,” he said. “We all want every Bay Area airport to thrive for tourism, but this isn’t the legal or practical way to go about it.”

OAK spokesperson Kaley Skantz said the Port of Oakland has received “positive” feedback from airlines and passengers regarding the new name. “Airlines and other industry partners are now better able to explain OAK’s geographic location on San Francisco Bay to those outside of the region,” she said. “OAK does not believe this has to be a zero-sum game.”