The Orlando airport is poised to drop its fight over the name Orlando in a settlement with Orlando Melbourne airport.
The ‘Orlando area’ is served by Orlando International (MCO), Orlando Sanford (SFB), and Orlando Melbourne (MLB). Orlando Melbourne, though, is only 8 miles closer to Orlando International than Daytona Beach is.
Since 2016 the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority, which operates Orlando International, has been trying to get Orlando Melbourne to stop using the name ‘Orlando’. They say it confuses consumers, but their interest is passenger revenue rather than consumer welfare. And it doesn’t appear the confusion manifests itself it people flying to Melbourne.
- Melbourne has American Eagle service to Charlotte and seasonal service to other hubs, along with Delta Atlanta service. And that’s generally it, though they’re supposed to get TUI flights to Europe in 2022.
- Orlando Sanford has Allegiant, seasonal service on TUI (which is moving to Melbourne), plus seasonal service, plus seasonal Surinam Airways and Wamos Air flights.
It would frankly be tough to fly to alternate Orlando airports if you didn’t intent to do so. That’s reflected in their 2019 passenger numbers.
- Orlando Melbourne: 0.5 million
- Orlando Sanford: 3.3 million
- Orlando International: 50 million
Nonetheless,
In a 2017 protest of Melbourne’s use of Orlando in its airport name, Greater Orlando Aviation Authority members, including Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer and then-Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs, rode in a chartered bus with an Orlando police escort to confront Melbourne officials in Brevard County.
To settle the argument, Orlando Melbourne International Airport – a name in use since 1998 – is poised to become… Melbourne Orlando International Airport.
Furthermore, “Melbourne’s authority will agree to not state or imply that their airport is in Orlando, that their airport is closer to Orlando than it actually is and that the Melbourne airport is the Orlando airport.”
In an unrelated legal dispute, the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority is also “opposing the Sanford airport authority’s efforts to get a trademark registration for the Orlando Sanford International Airport name.”
I wonder in terms of customer confusion, though, won’t leading with the name Melbourne cause problems as well, with people wanting to travel there winding up in Australia?
Yes Orlando, Orlando Sanford and Orlando Melbourne are a bit confusing – so are New York LaGuardia and New York JFK to those unable to Google – but that’s common in travel.
United Airlines claims Newark is “New York” (which is sort of true if by New York you mean Staten Island). Allegiant says Mesa, Arizona is Phoenix. And the Manchester, New Hampshire airport calls itself ‘Manchester–Boston’. Moreover, the Cincinnati airport isn’t even in Ohio (it’s in Kentucky). To name just a few.
It’s just like low cost carriers in Europe telling passengers that Bratislava is Vienna, even though they are capitals of two entirely separate countries.
This isn’t even limited to airlines and airports. Years ago in Northern Virginia the Sheraton Pentagon South wasn’t the closest Sheraton to the Pentagon. That was the Sheraton National, which itself wasn’t the closest Sheraton to National Airport. That was the Sheraton Crystal City, which is now a Westin.
I live near MLB (Melbourne, FL) and have flown from there to MEL (Melbourne, Australia) which has confused AA staff along the way. We need airports like MLB to stay in business. Seven gates and easy access makes it the airport of choice for Space Coast!
NY Jets and Giants are “New York” teams who play in New Jersey.
GVA has a terminal in France as well as Switzerland. BSL (EuroAiroort) is entirely in France, yet administered by the Swiss.
Orlando Melbourne International is actually better than Melbourne Orlando International because of the confusion with Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
This “international” business is also out of control. America no longer has airports, it only has international airports. Actually, the word “international” makes a joke of an airport if it isn’t big…jokes like Fort Wayne International Airport and Albany International Airport.
Why not change MLB to
Orlando Regional Airport
Melbourne Florida Airport
Jim Morrison Airport or Morrison Doors Airport
Hiram Mann Airport or Lt. Col. Mann Airport
Certainly not:
Melbourne Orlando Jim Morrison Hiram Mann International Airport
Gary, even you know that CVG is called Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky, so that people actually know where it is and don’t confuse it with Cincinnati Luken. No mention that both Washington National or Washington Dulles in Virginia?
Ummm- an “international” airport in the US is simply one that has international flights, not of a certain size, etc. It’s based on the requirement to have an immigration and customs facility, not from being of a certain size.
Now, there are certainly international airports that no longer host international flights, and I guess a few of them still use the term “international”. I think Fort Wayne falls into that category. But it doesn’t bother me, nor most people who use them…
There is no one in Brevard County, Florida, home of Melbourne, Cocoa Beach, Port Canaveral and the Space Center that says they live in Orlando.
The airport authority was always more interested in trying to associate w/ Orlando than touting the virtues of its own county – which are many.
Orlando and Orange County is an inland county.
MLB should be called the Melbourne Space Coast Airport.
Why did you not include the airport’s name in the title (Orlando Melbourne Airport May Be Forced To Change Its Name)? It’s the same word count. Rather than informing, using a vague question is subjecting your readers to clickbait. And why is “To” capitalized in the title? Prepositions are only capitalized if they are used adjectivally or adverbially.
Just spell out MCO as Mickey & Co. International and be done with it!
By the way. MLB is a nice airport to fly in and out – I did it once.
Florida.
Meh
@Dom, a very reliable rule about clickbait headlines is that if the headline includes the word “This”, it is clickbait. I prefer informative headlines, but it’s Gary’s blog and overall he does a good job, so I’ll put up with “This” this time.
I like Tim Dunn’s suggestion above.
My favorite “international” airport is Clow International Airport in Bolingbrook, Illinois. It’s a general aviation airport with no customs facility. The person who developed the airport, Clow, just wanted to call it an international airport.
For some many years now, Lakeland Linder International Airport (LAL) has been trying, in vain, to attract commercial air service. LAL is 10 miles closer to MCO than DAB and 2 miles closer to MCO than MLB. With an 8,499 ft. main runway, LAL can handle 747’s and 777’s. It is served by a FAA part 135 charter service and Amazon Prime Air 737 cargo flights. Perhaps the reason LAL has no scheduled commercial airline service is its proximity to TPA (38.4 mi.) and MCO (61.1 mi.). LAL would just drain precious passenger loads from both. But isn’t that what MLB, DAB SFB all want? Perhaps LAL just needs to change its name to Orlando Lakeland International Airport. Lakeland Orlando Linder Airport probably won’t wok since LOL is already taken.
It’s all semantically funny until you buy a ticket and show up at the airport to find out that the “Dusseldorf” flight you bought (labeled clearly as Dusseldorf on their website) is actually at the Weese airport that is 60km from Dusseldorf. Besides me, I wonder how many other folks missed that flight. I might expect such naming in a big down like New York or Berlin where you might expect to have multiple airports. Cities and airlines trying to play these games only cause pain and suffering for travelers.