OAK's Latest Name Proposal Puts Oakland Ahead of the San Francisco Bay

Jun. 27—The Oakland International Airport announced on Friday that it plans to adopt a new name — the second rebranding attempt in two years — but this time the proposal positions the city ahead of the Bay Area. If the Port of Oakland adopts an ordinance next month to approve the name, OAK will rebrand as the " Oakland San Francisco Bay Airport."

The proposal arrives at the heels of a tumultuous battle over the San Francisco Bay between OAK and the San Francisco International Airport that lasted throughout 2024.

After the Port approved the name " San Francisco Bay Oakland International Airport" in April 2024, there was some confusion among travelers about which airport they were using to fly. In response, San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu sued the Port, accusing it of trademark infringement. The legal quagmire resulted in a federal judge in November telling the Port that it needed to immediately stop inserting " San Francisco Bay" in front of OAK advertising, products and services.

As with the previous effort to change the airport's name, the airport code OAK remains untouched in the latest rebrand attempt. The cost also appears comparable to that of the last effort and should be well received by the Port's owner, the City of Oakland, which is facing a $129 million shortfall in this year's budget.

The Port said it would pay $150,000 to update its signs and digital media in 2024 and Craig Simon, the Port's director of aviation, told SFGATE by phone that it expects to pay a similar sum for the latest renaming. These costs likely pale in comparison to the amount spent on legal fees associated with the lawsuit from San Francisco. Simon said he was unaware of the money the Port had spent fighting for the previous name change. "I don't have a dollar amount associated with legal fees," he said.

The Port Board is scheduled to consider the name change at its July 10 meeting and if the ordinance is approved, the name would be officially approved at the board's July 24 meeting.

Some Oakland citizens were displeased with the previous renaming attempt that obscured Oakland from the airport's title. During the Port's 2024 public hearing on the issue, Oakland citizen Ronald Muhammad called it a "weak move" that attempted to whitewash concerns over public safety.

Simon explained that the name change is part of the Port's strategy to better convey the city's geographic location to travelers around the country and internationally who are unaware of the East Bay city.

"We are listening to communities. We understand that putting Oakland first does mean something. The important part here is having that ' San Francisco Bay' with Oakland because it gives us that geographic identity," he said. "The problem is not the people who live here. It's getting people to understand how wonderful Oakland is and how close it is to the Bay Area for people living past Denver and the Mississippi River going east."

Jen Kwart, spokesperson for San Francisco City Attorney's Office, told SFGATE in an email that it will "assess any next steps to ensure San Francisco International Airport's trademark is protected."

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