Controversial Oakland Airport sparks confusion – and a legal battle

If we needed proof of how important a name can be in a brand identity, we need look no further than the apparent confusion being sown by the rebranding of Metropolitan Oakland International Airport (OAK) as San Francisco Bay Oakland International Airport.

Approved in May, the airport's name change is intended to increase passengers’ awareness of where it's located, but it seems to be causing confusion with San Francisco International Airport (SFO). Meanwhile, a legal battle has kicked off between the two rival hubs (see our guide to iconic brands and our tips for choosing a product name to avoid a similar fate).

As reported by SFGATE, SFO claims that it's "seeing evidence of confusion". The airport added a dedicated grid in its operation log sheets to record instances of “New OAK Airport name caused confusion” and logged six incidents between June 18 and July 1.

The records don't provide a great amount of detail, and it's not clear if it was the passengers themselves or taxi drivers who confused the airport, but some of the cases involved passengers travelling on airlines that don't use SFO but fly out of OAK.

Port of Oakland says it hasn't received any complaints, but it's easy to see how the change of name could cause confusion. We've probably all heard stories of passengers finding themselves a long way from their destination due to rather liberal interpretations of geography in the naming of airports, either by themselves of by airlines. In San Francisco, things get even more confusing when you factor in San Jose Mineta (SJC), which apparently sometimes gets mistaken for SJO in Costa Rica.

Meanwhile, the city attorney of San Francisco, which owns SFO, has filed a trademark lawsuit against OAK. And the Port of Oakland has filed a countersuit pointing out that SFO isn't technically located in San Francisco either. Just sit down and sort it out, guys.

For more branding news in tourism and travel, check out the stunning new Visit Arizona logo design.

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Joe is a regular freelance journalist and editor at Creative Bloq. He writes news, features and buying guides and keeps track of the best equipment and software for creatives, from video editing programs to monitors and accessories. A veteran news writer and photographer, he now works as a project manager at the London and Buenos Aires-based design, production and branding agency Hermana Creatives. There he manages a team of designers, photographers and video editors who specialise in producing visual content and design assets for the hospitality sector. He also dances Argentine tango.