Mayor to Orlando airport: No to name-dispute settlement

PORT CANAVERAL — Drop "Orlando" from the name Orlando Melbourne International Airport. Stop using marketing websites with "Orlando" in the domain name. And don't suggest that Melbourne is nearby by using images of Disney World.

These terms — among others — were presented Wednesday by the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority to stave off its possible lawsuit against the Melbourne Airport Authority.

"No," Melbourne Mayor Kathy Meehan said of GOAA's proposed settlement, minutes after a joint board meeting wrapped up at Exploration Tower.

"I have been out in the community for how long? And I have never had somebody come up to me and say, 'Look, I am so confused. I flew into Orlando. I should have been in Melbourne.' Or, Melbourne-Orlando," said Meehan, airport board vice chairwoman.

"I've never seen correspondence. They don't email City Hall. Where's the proof that they're very confused?" she asked.

No board negotiations occurred Wednesday on GOAA's settlement offer, and no decisions were made. Next, executives and lawyers from both airports will try to resolve the dispute during a follow-up meeting. GOAA Chairman Frank Kruppenbacher and Jack Ryals, who chairs the Melbourne Airport Authority, will attend.

If both sides cannot agree, the issue will proceed to mediation, said Marcos Marchena, GOAA general counsel.

Dispute over 'Orlando' in Orlando Melbourne International Airport continues

Orlando Melbourne International Airport name here to stay

Back in January 2010, Melbourne airport officials launched an "Orlando-Melbourne International Airport" marketing campaign to drum up interest in the newly launched US Airways service to the carrier's hub in Charlotte, North Carolina.

With the new moniker, website visits jumped from 1.5 million in 2009 to 5.0 million in 2010.

In December, GOAA objected to the rival airport's name and voted to hire a law firm to research potential trademark violations.

Why? The term constitutes deceptive marketing and is likely to cause customer confusion, Stephen Luther, a patent attorney representing GOAA, told both boards Wednesday.

"We want to make sure that when people come to Central Florida, they're not dismayed when they arrive at the Melbourne International Airport and discover that they are perhaps an hour — maybe more than an hour's drive — away from Orlando and they thought they were actually flying into the Orlando airport," Luther said.

On the other hand, Leslie Lott, an intellectual-property lawyer representing Melbourne's airport, labeled the squabble “a fight looking for a problem to justify itself.” She said the Space Coast's tourist attractions have long been promoted worldwide as located within the Orlando area.

"How far away the Orlando-Melbourne airport is depends on whether you're going to Legoland, or Disney cruises, or what they call the Port of Orlando — which is Port Canaveral — or whether you're going to Lake Buena Vista and Disney," Lott told both boards.

Under GOAA's proposed settlement terms, Melbourne's airport would also:

• Stop making references to being located in "beachside Orlando."
• Accurately state distance or travel time relative to Orlando-area destinations in all advertising.
• Cease posting maps on the airport website that are "zoomed in to conceal the accurate distance to Orlando."

In return, GOAA offered to withdraw any objection to Melbourne's airport being included in the International Air Transport Association's Orlando metropolitan area codes.

Orlando International Airport draws more than 43 million passengers per year. Orlando Melbourne International Airport draws nearly 500,000 passengers per year. 

Both airports lie within the Orlando television market. Runway 9R in Melbourne is located 30 miles from the southeast corner of Orlando ZIP code 32832, said Greg Donovan, executive director of the Melbourne airport.

"This is not something that's a clandestine, let's-try-to-take-over-this name. We want to make sure that people understand that you have more than one option when you're coming into the Orlando area," Donovan told the Orlando contingent.

Contact Neale at 321-242-3638, rneale@floridatoday.com or follow @RickNeale1 on Twitter.