# Melbourne International Airport **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 12, 2004, 9:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melbourne-international-airport/268798 "2004-10-12T09:03:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![bienville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2004, 9:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melbourne-international-airport/268798/1 "2004-10-12T09:03:22Z")
So, a friend of mine recently bought, online, a plane ticket for his father. With short notice, his father had to go to Melbourne on business. The son sees an incredible, oh-my-god-it-can’t-be-true, offer on the internet: A ticket to Melbourne International Airport priced so much lower than one would expect that he immediately pounced on the opportunity! Dad was delighted, and very proud of his son for finding such a great deal! Dad boards a plane in Detroit bound for Atlanta. In Atlanta he has a brief layover then boards his connecting flight to Melbourne. All is going perfectly. The Melbourne flight pulls away from the gate on time and is taxiing in preparation for take-off. The pilot announces, “Folks, sit back and relax. We’ve got a _three hour_ flight to Melbourne, _Florida_.” Dad leaps up! “FLORIDA??? Stop the plane! I need to go to AUSTRALIA!!!” So they stop the plane. All the good Floridians are delayed as my friend’s father deplanes and retrieves his luggage. But, in all fairness, who knew there was a Melbourne in Florida? Not just a town called Melbourne, but a town with an [international airport](http://www.mlbair.com/)??? Yes, there _had to be_ many many other signs that he was not in the midst of international travel, the whole ordeal was quite silly and Dad and Son are entirely at fault- but it makes for a pretty funny story that they will never live down! 😃 P.S. This is the second air-travel related Thread I’ve started in less than a half hour. Find the other one and you win a donkey! ---
**Author:** ![Keapon\_Laffin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e274bd/32.png) [@Keapon\_Laffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keapon_Laffin)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2004, 9:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melbourne-international-airport/268798/2 "2004-10-12T09:28:48Z")
:eek: Really? A whole donkey? I’ve always wanted one of those. Heh, yeah, I stay in Melbourne (Aus), so I’ve had my share of mix-ups with Melbourne, Florida. Usually it involves booking a hotel, because when you do an online search, “Melbourne, Florida” always seems to be one of the top few in the list. ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2004, 10:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melbourne-international-airport/268798/3 "2004-10-12T10:20:45Z")
How easy was fixing the problem? ---
**Author:** ![bienville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2004, 10:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melbourne-international-airport/268798/4 "2004-10-12T10:25:52Z")
> [@Bear\_Nenno](#): > > How easy was fixing the problem? Hasn’t been fixed yet. The residents of Melbourne, FL still _insist_ on calling their city Melbourne. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![calm\_kiwi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9fc348/32.png) [@calm\_kiwi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/calm_kiwi)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2004, 10:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melbourne-international-airport/268798/5 "2004-10-12T10:38:10Z")
> [@Keapon Laffin](#): > > :eek: > Really? A whole donkey? I’ve always wanted one of those. > > Heh, yeah, I stay in Melbourne (Aus), so I’ve had my share of mix-ups with Melbourne, Florida. Usually it involves booking a hotel, because when you do an online search, “Melbourne, Florida” always seems to be one of the top few in the list. Are you Scottish? Scottish people seem to stay in places rather then live in places, it’s like they are on the run. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2004, 10:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melbourne-international-airport/268798/6 "2004-10-12T10:48:39Z")
> [@bienville](#): > > Hasn’t been fixed yet. The residents of Melbourne, FL still _insist_ on calling their city Melbourne. > 😉 HA! But did the airline give him a break on the Australia tickets? Did he get there on time? Was he able to fly directly from Melbourne, FL to Melbourne, Australia? Were there more layovers? Did he have to waste even more money on hotels waiting for an Australian flight?? ---
**Author:** ![bienville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2004, 11:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melbourne-international-airport/268798/7 "2004-10-12T11:35:32Z")
> [@Bear\_Nenno](#): > > How easy was fixing the problem? Well, he did get off the plane in Atlanta, and got back to Detroit the same day. Purchased a ticket for Antipodean Melbourne, now at the _very_ last minute which ended up being quite expensive. Different Airline for the Australia flight so of course they felt no obligation to give him any break on the price. Don’t know what happened with the airline that flew him to Atlanta and back, I don’t know if he tried to strong-arm them into giving him a credit or refund, of course it really was his fault- not theirs- so they might have been reluctant to credit him. ---
**Author:** ![Keapon\_Laffin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e274bd/32.png) [@Keapon\_Laffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keapon_Laffin)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2004, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melbourne-international-airport/268798/8 "2004-10-12T11:59:32Z")
> [@calm kiwi](#): > > Are you Scottish? Scottish people seem to stay in places rather then live in places, it’s like they are on the run. 🙂 Hahaha… you twit. I’m obviously booking the hotel room for someone else. :smack: 😃 ---
**Author:** ![bienville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2004, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melbourne-international-airport/268798/9 "2004-10-12T12:08:45Z")
I can’t believe no one’s the least bit interested in winning a donkey. 😕 ---
**Author:** ![calm\_kiwi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9fc348/32.png) [@calm\_kiwi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/calm_kiwi)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2004, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melbourne-international-airport/268798/10 "2004-10-12T12:39:39Z")
> [@Keapon Laffin](#): > > Hahaha… you twit. I’m obviously booking the hotel room for someone else. > :smack: > 😃 Thank you 🙂 I do twit well. ---
**Author:** ![Keapon\_Laffin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e274bd/32.png) [@Keapon\_Laffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keapon_Laffin)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2004, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melbourne-international-airport/268798/11 "2004-10-12T12:52:56Z")
> [@bienville](#): > > I can’t believe no one’s the least bit interested in winning a donkey. 😕 Ooh ooh. Me me. I want a donkey. I want a donkey. I’m not sure if this is the thread, but it looks like it: "Where are they now? (or, “I saw this on a plane once and LOVED it!”) " Yayyyyy. So, do I win? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2004, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melbourne-international-airport/268798/12 "2004-10-12T12:54:56Z")
> [@bienville](#): > > Hasn’t been fixed yet. The residents of Melbourne, FL still _insist_ on calling their city Melbourne. > 😉 As for the two Melbournes in England, clearly they’re the copycats 😉 ---
**Author:** ![bienville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2004, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melbourne-international-airport/268798/13 "2004-10-12T12:59:39Z")
> [@Keapon Laffin](#): > > Yayyyyy. So, do I win? > 😃 Congratulations! I’ll have her in the mail to you by the end of the week. If you sign up for full SDMB membership, I’ll put a pretty pink bow on her. ---
**Author:** ![calm\_kiwi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9fc348/32.png) [@calm\_kiwi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/calm_kiwi)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2004, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melbourne-international-airport/268798/14 "2004-10-12T13:06:08Z")
> [@GorillaMan](#): > > As for the two Melbournes in England, clearly they’re the copycats 😉 Obviously! Shit just cause you Poms like being first… ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2004, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melbourne-international-airport/268798/15 "2004-10-12T13:10:39Z")
I use Melbourne Florida in one of my favourite trivia questions - It was the birthplace of Jim Morrison of Doors fame. ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2004, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melbourne-international-airport/268798/16 "2004-10-12T13:12:58Z")
> [@bienville](#): > > All is going perfectly. The Melbourne flight pulls away from the gate on time and is taxiing in preparation for take-off. The pilot announces, “Folks, sit back and relax. We’ve got a _three hour_ flight to Melbourne, _Florida_.” I’m buying most of this except that a flight from Atlanta to Melbourne, FL can take three hours. Unless he was in a crop duster it should be a 1-2 hour flight, tops. Also, this reminds me of a story back about 15 years ago where I guy in LA boarded a flight for Auckland because the Kiwi accent made him think that they’d said Oakland. Apparently he figured it out fairly early into the flight, but they made him fly all the way to NZ, then turned him around and sent him back. ---
**Author:** ![calm\_kiwi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9fc348/32.png) [@calm\_kiwi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/calm_kiwi)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2004, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melbourne-international-airport/268798/17 "2004-10-12T13:15:11Z")
> [@ShibbOleth](#): > > Also, this reminds me of a story back about 15 years ago where I guy in LA boarded a flight for Auckland because the Kiwi accent made him think that they’d said Oakland. Apparently he figured it out fairly early into the flight, but they made him fly all the way to NZ, then turned him around and sent him back. The Kiwi accent quite clearly says Awkland! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![calm\_kiwi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9fc348/32.png) [@calm\_kiwi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/calm_kiwi)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2004, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melbourne-international-airport/268798/18 "2004-10-12T13:17:04Z")
Oh and I believe that was an episode of something with the Olsen twins. What?? It was a rainy Sunday afternoon! ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2004, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melbourne-international-airport/268798/19 "2004-10-12T13:20:05Z")
As far as I can see, the largest plane flying that route is an MD80 - did he really think that was going to get them all the way to Oz? :smack: ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2004, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melbourne-international-airport/268798/20 "2004-10-12T13:21:39Z")
> [@calm kiwi](#): > > Oh and I believe that was an episode of something with the Olsen twins. > > What?? It was a rainy Sunday afternoon! It has never rained that much. Ever. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melbourne-international-airport/268798.md?page=2)