Aug. 7—Oakland International Airport is considering changing its name as part of a rebranding effort aimed at attracting more travelers, more airlines and direct service to more destinations.
The Port of Oakland, which owns and operates the airport, recently sent out a survey through a professional polling company asking 700 registered voters in Oakland how "comfortable" they would be with a name change for the airport.
The Chronicle obtained a copy of the survey, which asks several questions — the key one being: "How comfortable would you be with Oakland International Airport changing its name to reflect the Airport's service area, the San Francisco East Bay Region as part of an effort to attract more flights and destinations?"
Respondents are given the choice of choosing "very comfortable," "somewhat comfortable," "not too comfortable" or "not at all comfortable."
Port spokeswoman Marilyn Sandifur said the potential name change is part of an effort to increase awareness of Oakland International Airport, its location and its proximity to tourist attractions for travelers flying to the Bay Area.
Bay Area travelers who use Oakland consistently ask for more direct flights to more destinations, as well as service from other airlines. But while the airport has interest in flying from Oakland, she said, there's not as much interest from inbound travelers wanting to fly into Oakland.
"The airport is considering many ways to overcome this problem, including a rebrand campaign that may add a geographic identifier in our name to help inbound passengers understand the airport's proximity to the San Francisco Bay Area," she said.
Some people who have received the survey have assumed and commented on social media that a name change would strip Oakland from the name of the Bay Area's second-busiest airport, but Sandifur said that's not the case.
"The Port of Oakland does not intend to remove the word 'Oakland' from the Oakland International Airport name," she said. The airport's code, OAK, would also remain unchanged.
Asked what a possible name would look like — perhaps Oakland/San Francisco or East Bay/Oakland — she declined to speculate.
"I'm not going to go there," she said.
Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao and representatives of Visit Oakland did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The survey is the start of a public process by the port to consider a name change or, as it prefers to call it, a rebranding.
"We're in the early stages of the process," Sandifur said, adding that any name change would take about a year.
Some who commented on the proposal on social media didn't seem very comfortable with the idea of changing the name, especially if it meant shedding the Oakland label.
"Hella no," said a user named OakTown Hi-D, employing the Oakland vernacular, on X (formerly known as Twitter).
"Stop trying to erase my city," said Creolemafia34.
___
(c)2023 the San Francisco Chronicle
Visit the San Francisco Chronicle at www.sfchronicle.com
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
