Bay Area rivals Oakland and San Francisco are entering a new era of feuding.
For decades, competition between the “City by the Bay” and its more down-to-earth neighbor centered on rival professional football and Major League Baseball franchises. But with the Raiders fleeing Oakland and the Athletics poised to follow suit, the two cities apparently needed something new to fight over.
Sign for airports.
On Tuesday, San Francisco asked a federal judge for a preliminary injunction to bar Oakland’s airport from using its new name, San Francisco Bay International Airport in Oakland. Despite the new name, the East Bay airport retains its OAK airport code and “I Fly OAK” logo, and its runways continue to hug the east side of San Francisco Bay.
San Francisco alleges in court documents that the airport's new name constitutes trademark infringement, is confusing to travelers and is a thinly veiled attempt to lure customers away from San Francisco International Airport.
“While Oakland Airport serves many of the same Bay Area travelers as SFO, it serves far fewer,” San Francisco’s attorneys wrote in the court filing. “What better way to attract new customers, service providers and airlines than by adopting a copycat brand?”
The Port of Oakland responded in a press release this week saying San Francisco is simply trying to “wipe OAK off the map.”
“This is not and has never been about SFO or confusion,” Mary Richardson, an attorney for the Port of Oakland, said in a statement. “This is about making travelers aware of the options they have when traveling to and from the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area.”
The fight began in the spring after the Oakland Board of Port Commissioners voted to change the name of Oakland International Airport to the more inclusive San Francisco Bay International Airport in Oakland.
Port Commission Chairwoman Barbara Leslie said at the time that the move was an effort to help travelers better understand the airport's location. Oakland's airport, which opened in September 1927, is best known as the spot from which Amelia Earhart took off on her ill-fated attempt to fly around the world.
But San Francisco International Airport, which has been in operation since May 1927, immediately opposed the name change, arguing that it would cause confusion. Days after the Oakland Board of Port Commissioners voted in favor of 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 image update has caused travelers to book flights to San Francisco International Airport with the intention of traveling to Oakland. Others have been directed to the wrong airport by digital assistants and ride-sharing services.
Attempts to speak with Oakland officials to find alternative names were unsuccessful, Chiu said.
“San Francisco has invested millions to turn San Francisco International Airport into the world-class airport it is today. We have created an incredible brand that we must protect,” he said. “Oakland has a trademark for Oakland International Airport. It should use that and stay away from San Francisco’s brand.”
In his statement, Richardson accused San Francisco of trying to stifle competition and position SFO as the only airport serving the Bay Area. “That is not the case, and OAK will continue to aggressively fight for its position in the San Francisco Bay Area.”
