The Greater Orlando Aviation Authority is demanding that the far smaller airport in south Brevard County remove Orlando from its name and post for at least a year a retraction of “false and “misleading” statements about its proximity and relationship with Orlando and Orlando area attractions.

The suit alleges that Orlando Melbourne International Airport, nearly 70 miles from Orlando, falsely conveys through its name and advertisements that it “is located in or is closer to Orlando and Orlando area attractions than it actually is.”




Also, in a current legal action, Orlando’s airport authority is attempting to stop Orlando Sanford International Airport from getting a trademark registration for that name.


wow.....Mickey ain't kidding






https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/os ... uLMlYeZsp8

Sorry but that’s ridiculous. They don’t own the city name. Not sure why MCO even cares.

There also suing Orlando Sanford International Airport (KSFB).

jonnyclam123 wrote:

There also suing Orlando Sanford International Airport (KSFB).

That's really ridiculous. SFB is clearly in the Metro.

At first I thought they were suing Major League Baseball.

It's the same things when Stockton (SCK) tried to call themselves San Francisco-Stockton Regional Airport. I can see it in cases where it is the closest airport to that region but when those cities already have major airports and you are not even that close to being in that metro area, I can see it making confusion.

https://www.recordnet.com/news/20171019 ... n-stockton

LOL, so the MCO airport authority is suing MLB and threatening to sue SFB for including "Orlando" in their names. Granted, I know of people who've booked flights into SFB and were surprised to find out that it wasn't the Orlando airport they were expecting to travel to, but that's on them. Granted, MLB is 90-minutes to 2-hour drive from Orlando's attractions, but I really don't see anything wrong with marketing it as central to Orlando...

compensateme wrote:

Granted, MLB is 90-minutes to 2-hour drive from Orlando's attractions, but I really don't see anything wrong with marketing it as central to Orlando...

I've done the drive, and it was even less than that--1:00 to 1:15. With all the lines and stuff at MCO, it might actually be quicker to go into MLB and drive over.

When I first saw this, all I could think was "wait a minute, there isn't a baseball club in Orlando" ...

(since when has Melbourne's airport had Orlando in the name? Can't honestly blame them for suing, it's really not close at all, being all the way over on the coast)

Why not suggest to the authorities at MEL that they sue MLB as well, then it may end up as a nameless airport somewhere in Florida..

MLB is only 61 miles (100 KM) from MCO. I think at the end of the day though no one in florida would assume MLB is the same as Orlando metro area. Lots of forest, farms, and swamp between the two.

I don't get why MLB wants to use the Orlando name unless it is to lure people for tourism. Either way though, I don't think Orlando should be able to sue over the name .

Born in the area and lived there a lot of my life and Melbourne is not Orlando...never will be and the name is incredibly misleading to the uninformed/tourist.

As if Melbourne adding Orlando to their name is going to steal any traffic away from MCO. Nothing more than just another way to waste taxpayers money LOL

TPA did the same thing a few years ago ... http://www.tampabay.com/news/business/a ... pa/1259358

enilria wrote:

Sorry but that’s ridiculous. They don’t own the city name. Not sure why MCO even cares.

Doesn’t matter. They are suing under Trademark law presumably. You don’t need to own the name. You or I could file the suit. All that matters is being able to successfully argue it is misleading the public.

yeah melbourne is not orlando. its like 2hrs from disney, vs mco like 30 min.

Maybe then why is Port Canaveral Orlando‘s Cruise Port ! Maybe then they shouldn’t advertise that either !

vegas005 wrote:

Born in the area and lived there a lot of my life and Melbourne is not Orlando...never will be and the name is incredibly misleading to the uninformed/tourist.

I noticed the "Orlando" part the other month. I live in Palm Bay and I also think it's confusing. However, they may be doing it to attract the Cruise traffic in Cocoa.

enilria wrote:

jonnyclam123 wrote:

There also suing Orlando Sanford International Airport (KSFB).

That's really ridiculous. SFB is clearly in the Metro.

Ridiculous to say the least.

I guess BWI should stop referring to themselves as Baltimore-Washington too!

If you could round up all the people that flew to MLB because, due to having Orlando in the name they thought they were at Mickey's doorstep, then you could probably find some victims of the Nigerian email scams, too

MLB should not advertise themselves as "Orlando". That is misleading. Almost like false advertising. Uninformed travelers trying to get to Orlando could easily book a flight into MLB thinking they are going to the actual Orlando when it's not even close. And no, an hour and 30 min to 2 hours drive is not close.

They could win against MLB, but not SFB as SFB was the airport before MCO stopped being a military base.

TWA772LR wrote:

At first I thought they were suing Major League Baseball.

hehe same here, like no reason to sue just because there isn't a team in the city or something

KLMatSJC wrote:

compensateme wrote:

Granted, MLB is 90-minutes to 2-hour drive from Orlando's attractions, but I really don't see anything wrong with marketing it as central to Orlando...

I've done the drive, and it was even less than that--1:00 to 1:15. With all the lines and stuff at MCO, it might actually be quicker to go into MLB and drive over.

Last time I flew out of MCO, it would have been quicker to drive to MLB than wait in the security queue line

Disney is not much farther from MLB than it is from SFB. I didn't realize it was that close until now.

Please... no "trademark" on the word "Orlando." Now if they wanted to call themselves "Orlando International Airport," might be a case. But simply capitalizing on their close proximity to the city does not seem to be an "actionable" offense. Do they serve, or are they within what would be considered the greater Orlando catchment area? If yes, then their position to include the word Orlando in their name is even stronger.

We have away from the notion that every situation in life has to be adjudicated.

aemoreira1981 wrote:

They could win against MLB, but not SFB as SFB was the airport before MCO stopped being a military base.

The now-named Orlando Executive Airport used to be Orlando Municipal Airport. National and Eastern both flew there.

enilria wrote:

Sorry but that’s ridiculous. They don’t own the city name. Not sure why MCO even cares.

They're just being a bully through litigation. I wonder what they're claiming as damages? It's not like many people are flying into MLB over MCO.

Next up West palm beach/Orlando Airport.

777PHX wrote:

enilria wrote:

Sorry but that’s ridiculous. They don’t own the city name. Not sure why MCO even cares.

They're just being a bully through litigation. I wonder what they're claiming as damages? It's not like many people are flying into MLB over MCO.

Exactly

SonaSounds wrote:

It's the same things when Stockton (SCK) tried to call themselves San Francisco-Stockton Regional Airport. I can see it in cases where it is the closest airport to that region but when those cities already have major airports and you are not even that close to being in that metro area, I can see it making confusion.

https://www.recordnet.com/news/20171019 ... n-stockton

they could be Sacramento- Stockton Regional But San Francisco? No!

Sanford is a legit suburb of Orlando where Melbourne is really, in my opinion, not. Its false marketing. Granted a shot down 192 takes you right to the attractions as opposed to taking the B Line to I4.

Andy33 wrote:

Why not suggest to the authorities at MEL that they sue MLB as well, then it may end up as a nameless airport somewhere in Florida..

MEL and MLB have a pretty good relationship with each other. They have expressed this on their social media pages, including the exchange of souvenir items.

But when you google search 'Melbourne Airport' it will come up with the much larger Melbourne Airport in Australia, so MLB will need to distinct themselves.

Space Coast Airport suits better, hell, even Cape Canaveral/Melbourne Airport is better.

If they can prove that people have been misleaded, and that MCO has suffered some amount of economic damage due to to wrong usage of the name, why not, I can see their point. Apparently they even aren't in the Orlando metro. Besides, MLB has flights by AA and DL. It's an easy mistake for a pax to make.

santi319 wrote:

Space Coast Airport suits better, hell, even Cape Canaveral/Melbourne Airport is better.

TIX already is Space Coast Regional Airport.

Manchester-Boston Regional Airport

I would expect Orlando officials to get farther with a federal FTC claim under 'false and misleading' as opposed to trademark infringement. But I'm not a lawyer.

The idea that MLB is hurting MCO is beyond ridiculous. No way on earth they will be able to prove any loss, not without making it up.

Once finished w MLB, Orlando Airport Authority is gearing up for a suit against the Orlando Magic of the NBA claiming magic is not real and misleads the public.

They MIGHT (and that's a BIG might) have a case against MLB, as there is no way Melbourne can be classified as "Orlando". That being said, I doubt there are many people if any confusing MLB for MCO and flying into there. They only have Delta service to ATL, AA service to PHL/DCA/CLT, and Porter Airlines. It's also very doubtful that MCO can prove MLB is losing them customers/money/air service.

There is absolutely ZERO case to be had on SFB. Sanford is in the Greater Orlando area and it's major airlines, Allegiant, TUI, and Via Air do NOT operate to MCO. Vice versa, no airline at MCO operates to SFB. Think of it in all aspects as the "low cost alternative" to MCO. There is no way SFB is hurting MCO at all.

As I said, have no clue about MLB but there is no way "Orlando Sanford International Airport" is going to change their name. MLB serves Melbourne while SFB serves Sanford AND Orlando.

Sounds like a total waste of time, resources and money. That's like SFO suing the Port of Oakland to take San Francisco/Oakland off of any published item.

williaminsd wrote:

Please... no "trademark" on the word "Orlando." Now if they wanted to call themselves "Orlando International Airport," might be a case. But simply capitalizing on their close proximity to the city does not seem to be an "actionable" offense. Do they serve, or are they within what would be considered the greater Orlando catchment area? If yes, then their position to include the word Orlando in their name is even stronger.

We have away from the notion that every situation in life has to be adjudicated.

That’s not how trademark law works. If the name can confuse consumers, they have a basis for a case.

The Orlando statistical area consists of Orange County (Orlando), Osceola County (Kissimmee), Seminole County (Sanford) and Lake County. Melbourne and Brevard County are not even part of the extended combined statistical area, which includes Volusia (Daytona), Flagler (St. Augustine) and Sumter Counties. I can see why there's an issue over whether or not MLB should be considered part of the Orlando Metro, but it's not like they're closer to Palm Beach or anything.

Is anyone really flying into MLB under the impression that they’re going to step outside the terminal and be in Orlando? Even though the name is officially “Orlando Melbourne International Airport”, virtually every airline and airfare comparison site just lists it as “MLB” or “Melbourne, FL” with no mention of Orlando. When you search for flights out of multiple airports on Google Flights, it recognizes MCO and SFB as “Orlando area” but if you include MLB in the search it’s treated as a distinct entity.

While I wouldn’t routinely use MLB as an alternate to MCO, I have once before and the drive goes by quickly and is fairly simple. Since MLB is smaller and doesn’t have as many tourists, going through security isn’t nearly as chaotic and there’s no need to show up as early as you need to at MCO, which makes up for the added distance. Plus you can hit the beach right before your flight.

ctrabs0114 wrote:

The Orlando statistical area consists of Orange County (Orlando), Osceola County (Kissimmee), Seminole County (Sanford) and Lake County. Melbourne and Brevard County are not even part of the extended combined statistical area, which includes Volusia (Daytona), Flagler (St. Augustine) and Sumter Counties. I can see why there's an issue over whether or not MLB should be considered part of the Orlando Metro, but it's not like they're closer to Palm Beach or anything.

St Augustine is in St. John's County, not Flagler.

AtomicGarden wrote:

If they can prove that people have been misleaded, and that MCO has suffered some amount of economic damage due to to wrong usage of the name, why not, I can see their point. Apparently they even aren't in the Orlando metro. Besides, MLB has flights by AA and DL. It's an easy mistake for a pax to make.

If people are mislead about this, they are more likely the people that need the warning label on a coffee cup about the contents being hot. If one doesn't do research before, well anything, it's on them and them alone.

BrodieBruce wrote:

ctrabs0114 wrote:

The Orlando statistical area consists of Orange County (Orlando), Osceola County (Kissimmee), Seminole County (Sanford) and Lake County. Melbourne and Brevard County are not even part of the extended combined statistical area, which includes Volusia (Daytona), Flagler (St. Augustine) and Sumter Counties. I can see why there's an issue over whether or not MLB should be considered part of the Orlando Metro, but it's not like they're closer to Palm Beach or anything.

St Augustine is in St. John's County, not Flagler.

I don't know why I thought St. Augustine was Flagler County, but thanks for the correction.

MLB is further from Downtown Orlando than DAY is from Downtown Cincinnati, and DAY is clearly in a separate market and separate metropolitan area from CVG. The same argument that applies to DAY/CVG also applies to MLB/MCO, and DAY is also no longer marketed as an alternative airport for the Greater Cincinnati area by any of the airlines still serving DAY.

ctrabs0114 wrote:

The Orlando statistical area consists of Orange County (Orlando), Osceola County (Kissimmee), Seminole County (Sanford) and Lake County. Melbourne and Brevard County are not even part of the extended combined statistical area, which includes Volusia (Daytona), Flagler (St. Augustine) and Sumter Counties. I can see why there's an issue over whether or not MLB should be considered part of the Orlando Metro, but it's not like they're closer to Palm Beach or anything.

I know a lot of folks who like to think that half of Polk County is Greater Orlando and the other half thinks their Greater Tampa.