Word on the street is OAK - Oakland’s airport - is renaming once again. After the failed attempt to lure unsuspecting travelers to think it is SFO - San Francisco’s airport, OAK is now named Oakland San Francisco Bay Airport.
People will absolutely do everything but fix the reputation of Oakland.
There’s a reason we avoid flying into and out of OAK. The city’s high crime reputation is not worth the risk of whatever savings we get on the plane ticket. Now that Southwest - of which OAK is a hub - is just like any other airline, there’s absolutely no reason to choose Oakland.
Heck, why stop at changing the name of the airport? Rename Oakland to something else so that tourists would mistake it for a place that’s actually safe.
My friend was recently in Oakland for a concert, and his car got broken into. Coincidental as it may be, the town can’t escape its reputation when it gets constantly reinforced. Instead of rearranging the deck chairs, it needs to patch the gaping hole left by the iceberg.
If it isn’t for tourists, at least do it for people who actually live there. Oakland residents deserve a community free of quality-of-life harms.
Meet me here.