A petty naming dispute died anticlimactically after Oakland International Airport representatives won ownership over their insistent “San Francisco” prefix. Somehow this decision slid past every sensible censor on its way to print, and in 2025, they wedged it in. The addition baffled travelers and Bay Area residents alike, reasonable to seemingly no one but OAK’s ill-informed sloganeers. A lawsuit plunged the Port of Oakland and the City of San Francisco into a two-year Battle of the Bay. The parties reached a settlement only last week, setting a pristine example of compromise in which neither side is happy.
Here at At Ruth’s Chris Oakland San Francisco International Airport, Steakhouse, Hair Care & Tire Center, our motto is, “Close enough.”
The tension between the Bay Area’s most culturally significant cities is what holds up the Bridge connecting them. The Oakland–San Francisco rivalry, almost as old as Cher, was once the basis of our former baseball teams’ relationship. But one of my first Bay Area history lessons was, this legacy is anything but superficial. San Francisco was founded by Jesuits and became a city that worships wealth. Oakland is a town built and defined by trade. For better or worse, their histories essentially reflect each other and are inseparably entwined.
But is that grounds for one entity to market the name of the other? OAK representatives seem to think so. “We’re proud Oakland fought for and preserved the right to retain our airport’s full name that puts Oakland first and recognizes OAK’s location on the San Francisco Bay,” attorney for the Port of Oakland Mary Richardson told the San Francisco Standard. The drama kicked off in 2024 when OAK execs renamed it the “San Francisco Bay Oakland International Airport.” Their goal: to “raise more geographic awareness” ...by luring more travelers to SFO’s jealous cousin.
“We believe more awareness of the airports in the region benefits all consumers.”
The only reason this idea made it past any sensible censor had to be technical (the worst kind!). At least OAK is actually in Oakland; SFO is located in San Mateo County. And that hasn’t resulted in travelers overlooking SFO even though it isn’t situated in City and County proper. What means the most, especially to those travelling from out of the country, is the title. It seems however that the folks at OAK took this a bit too literally.
Imagine being the one person this stupid name change actually fooled. You land in Oakland and realize how far you are from San Francisco and how much getting there will cost you. It’s 12 AM, you’re hungry, and all the airport restaurants are FUCKING closed. Instead of that late-nite Mission burrito you hoped for, your Uber driver agrees to swing by In-n-Out if you buy him something. Nothing like this has never happened to me. Creative commons.
Who thought this gambit would really work?
Lawyers took about a week to wind up and slap the Port of Oakland with a lawsuit. City Attorney David Chiu told KQED back then that, “Oakland intentionally designed their new rename to divert those who were unfamiliar with Bay Area geography.” Oakland International’s new San Francisco decoy would have to change. Who thought this gambit would really work?
Two airports, both alike in dignity, in fair cities both prone to and therefore united against similar forces. Oakland took in numerous San Franciscans whose homes burnt to the ground following the 1906 earthquake. San Francisco then grew into a Naval city while Oakland churned out ships that toured the Pacific in WWII. Oakland would later absorb the postwar transfer of the shipping economy from San Francisco, who shifted their attention to tourism. They continue subscribing to differing philosophies. Through fires, earthquakes, riots, pandemics and more, we are still the Bay Area, time and again.
That’s the original “Battle of the Bay,” not a frivolous tug-of-war between its two main airports.
Not long ago, flying in or out of OAK was cheaper than legging it over the Bay to SFO. I once flew nonstop Kansas City to Oakland for $80 (and boy, were my arms tired!). I rode the 73-Coliseum bus (AC Transit) to OAK from Coliseum BART for $2 and change. It dropped me off closer to the terminals than that new shuttle does. That overhyped, underwhelming wagon simply follows the 73’s route for twice the fare. You can watch the bus beat you to the airport from your driverless tram that obnoxiously pauses halfway. We used to be a real country, some say.
This glorified zip line is like a train ride through Disneyland if the theme was “dying business park.” Creative commons.
OAK, why be ashamed to be what you are? Who hurt you? What’s wrong with being the Bay Area’s Burbank? Be proud of yourself, OAK. You are better off than you think. In this analogy, San José Mineta International Airport is way the fuck out in Ontario.
Oh AC Transit with your boxy buses and green plastic seats. Thank you for being my chariot to flights bound for Albuquerque, Kansas City, Portland and beyond. Creative commons.
I can sum up my point in a phrase I heard a ton growing up in Missouri: “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” Put another way, there’s a saying among surgeons that, “The enemy of ‘good’ is ‘better.’” Both warn against the narcissism of small improvements. And yet, that scheme is precisely what the reps for Oakland International Airport fell for, only to watch it backfire.
In the end, the two litigants agreed to drop their suits over who can use the San Francisco name and how. The new name may still incorporate “San Francisco,” as long as “Oakland” always appears first and/or most prominently. Now their airport is called the “Oakland San Francisco Bay Airport,” but don’t be fooled. It’s still the same OAK workhorse it’s always been. Some names just stick. Chicagoans still call it Sears Tower after all. So who really won here?
