Thomas S. Hixson has ruled that the Port of Oakland must cease to use the name San Francisco Bay in the name of its airport effective immediately — which means that the name San Francisco Bay Oakland International Airport cannot be used as the new name of Metropolitan Oakland International Airport.
San Francisco Bay Oakland International Airport Will Not Fly.
“San Francisco’s motion for a preliminary injunction is GRANTED IN PART and DENIED IN PART”, according to this official order from the magistrate judge of the United States District Court in the Northern District of California yesterday, Tuesday, November 12, 2024. “The Court PRELIMINARILY ENJOINS the Port of Oakland and its officers, directors, agents, servants, employees, and all other persons who are in active concert or participation with them who receive actual notice of this order by personal or other service, from using, displaying, or registering the name or trademark ‘San Francisco Bay Oakland International Airport’ in connection with any products or services, including in connection with advertising, marketing, or other promotion, distribution, offering for sale, or sale, of any products or services.”
As part of a broader effort to improve the experience of passengers and to increase business, the Oakland Board of Port Commissioners voted unanimously on Thursday, April 11, 2024 for Metropolitan Oakland International Airport to change its name; and on the same day, the Alameda County Board of Supervisors endorsed the official modification of the name of the airport.
The federal judge determined that the city of San Francisco will suffer irreparable harm from the aforementioned change of the name of the airport in question; and that Oakland violated the trademark of San Francisco for SFO.
David Chui and several other attorneys for the city of San Francisco filed a lawsuit on Thursday, April 18, 2024 in opposition of the change of the name of Metropolitan Oakland International Airport by alleging infringement of the trademark of the name San Francisco International Airport. Widespread confusion among passengers, travel mishaps, and economic harm to San Francisco International Airport were also as cited as reasons for the opposition of changing the name of the airport.
Both United Airlines and the current mayor of San Francisco also opposed the name change.
Final Boarding Call
Poor Oakland. At least the proposed new name of its international airport is not changing to honor someone, which I vehemently oppose. Airports should not be named after people, in my opinion — especially when people such as Patrick Anthony McCarran and John Wayne are considered to be controversial…
…but an airport name should also be easy to remember. It should include the name of the geographic location which it serves. I personally prefer the name Oakland International Airport and simply drop the word Metropolitan out of the name. Easy.
If the city of Oakland wants increased recognition of where it is located, perhaps it needs to spend money on improving the city and creating its own positive reasons for becoming a destination that is more unique. It does not need to follow the example of the international airport which serves Baltimore, whose official name was Baltimore/Washington International Airport but then was changed to — get this — Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport.
Just call it Baltimore International Airport and be done with it…
Photograph ©2015 by Brian Cohen.
