Oct 10, 2024
The latest legal drama regarding whether Oakland Airport can have "San Francisco" in its name comes from the Oakland airport, which has filed its opposition to SF’s injunction, and claims SF is faking the data that customers are confused by the name change.The airport formerly known as Oakland International Airport went and changed its name to San Francisco Bay Oakland International Airport back in May. So an irate SF International Airport, and SF City Attorney David Chiu, filed a lawsuit to make them undo that name change. And amidst numerous media reports that confused travelers were going to the wrong airport because of the name change, Chiu filed an injunction last month calling for an immediate halt to the name change while the case is decided."The renaming appeared to be intentionally designed to capitalize on SFO’s trademark and divert travelers who may be unfamiliar with Bay Area geography," Chiu’s office said at the time.   Well, Oakland has now filed its response. KTVU reports that the Port of Oakland, which operates the airport, has filed a motion against Chiu’s injunction, which goes so far as to claim Chiu and SFO “manipulated results” in those media reports to make it look  like people had gone to the wrong airport.  The Port of Oakland has taken the unusual step of posting the filing to its website. The Port claims that Chiu and SFO’s data "consists of a handful of unauthenticated online opinion posts, a flawed consumer survey with manufactured stimuli and manipulated results, a 'log' created for litigation by unidentified SFO volunteers, and a curated selection of communications expressing opinions about the Port’s consideration of a new name for its Airport."And as they note, the San Francisco Bay Oakland International Airport still uses the three-letter shorthand "OAK" in online bookings."SFO continues to manufacture confusion under the cloak of its legal filings," Port of Oakland Director of Aviation Craig Simon said in a statement to KTVU. "Their tactics create an anti-competitive environment that does a disservice to all travelers coming to the Bay Area."The response to the injunction is not a surprising development, and should not be seen as a sign of legal momentum for either airport in this case. But the allegation of "manipulated results," or whether Chiu's results will be seen as legit by a federal judge, may determine the outcome of this dispute. Either way, Oakland’s airport will remain named San Francisco Bay Oakland International Airport for the time being, and a federal judge will start hearing argument on the injunction on November 7.Related: At Least a Few Airline Passengers Are Getting Confused About Oakland Airport Name Change, Showing Up at SFO [SFist]Image: OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA - APRIL 12: Travelers walk towards Terminal 2 at Oakland International Airport on April 12, 2024 in Oakland, California. The Board of Commissioners for the Port of Oakland voted on Thursday to proceed with a plan to change the name of Oakland International Airport to the San Francisco Bay Oakland International Airport. San Francisco officials are objecting to the proposed name change and have threatened to file a lawsuit arguing it would violate the city’s trademark on San Francisco International Airport and would potentially be confusing for people traveling to the area. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
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