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Actual Airport Names versus Airline Marketed Names

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Actual Airport Names versus Airline Marketed Names

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Old Jun 14, 2021, 4:25 pm
  #1  
O62
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Actual Airport Names versus Airline Marketed Names

Hi folks,

It always found it interesting that American Airlines refers to MRY as Carmel/Monterey when all the other airlines just call it Monterey (and the airport itself makes no mention of Carmel). On a similar note, MBS airport between Midland, Saginaw, and Bay City Michigan (and located in Freeland) is referred to as Saginaw by UA and Bay City by DL (and the airport calls itself MBS while the ATC is Saginaw Tower/Ground). It got me thinking, what are other cities where airlines name the airport something completely different from other airlines or the airport itself?
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Old Jun 14, 2021, 5:22 pm
  #2  
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I will go you one better. At one time, different subsystems/partitions within AA decoded the same airport in different ways on the same day. Depending on whether you were checking in online, booking a flight, getting a kiosk boarding pass, or getting a card stock boarding pass with from an agent, your travel to/from VPS might have shown as Valparaiso, Fort Walton Beach, or Destin. Other names (though not used by AA SABRE partitions as far as I recall) for that airport included Eglin AFB and Northwest Florida Regional.

KVPS - one airport, five names, at one time!
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Old Jun 14, 2021, 5:39 pm
  #3  
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please don’t get me started on DCA … Washington National Airport does NOT have a first name, much less two
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Old Jun 14, 2021, 8:59 pm
  #4  
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Pretty sure the official name is Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. https://www.flyreagan.com/dca/airport-overview

If you don't like it, blame Bill Clinton, who signed the law changing the name.
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Old Jun 14, 2021, 10:01 pm
  #5  
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as one whose first flight from DCA was in 1970, and who spent many afternoons there with camera in hand for seven or eight years prior to that, it’s about attachment to history/tradition rather than a a congressional decree
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Old Jun 15, 2021, 3:17 am
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This one has caused problems as far back as 1934
Calling EWR New York / Newark
Current name is Newark Liberty International Airport
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Old Jun 15, 2021, 3:22 am
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When i used to fly into Manchester Airport (MAN) I occasionally picked up it was referred to as Manchester Ringway. Ringway is the area it is located and it's original name.
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Old Jun 15, 2021, 5:40 am
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Well FR refer, or at least used to refer to some airports as cities in other countries! So MMX (Malmö) was called Copenhagen, and BTS (Bratislava) was called Vienna.
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Old Jul 19, 2021, 3:18 pm
  #9  
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Originally Posted by jrl767
as one whose first flight from DCA was in 1970, and who spent many afternoons there with camera in hand for seven or eight years prior to that, it’s about attachment to history/tradition rather than a a congressional decree
There's definitely a signage component as well (in addition to the whole air traffic control business). Congress was legally allowed to rename an airport after their latest crush if they want to - but making the local community and local tax dollars pay for their new signage left a sour taste in a lot of mouths. Significantly moreso given the person at issue and how he treated the local community.
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Old Jul 19, 2021, 11:08 pm
  #10  
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SNA will always be OCA: Orange County Airport, not that alcoholic racist actor.
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Old Jul 20, 2021, 7:29 am
  #11  
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Originally Posted by O62
Hi folks,

It always found it interesting that American Airlines refers to MRY as Carmel/Monterey when all the other airlines just call it Monterey (and the airport itself makes no mention of Carmel). On a similar note, MBS airport between Midland, Saginaw, and Bay City Michigan (and located in Freeland) is referred to as Saginaw by UA and Bay City by DL (and the airport calls itself MBS while the ATC is Saginaw Tower/Ground). It got me thinking, what are other cities where airlines name the airport something completely different from other airlines or the airport itself?
For GSO, the official name of the airport is "Piedmont Triad Int'l Airport" and technically makes no reference to Greensboro specifically (as the airport serves Greensboro, High Point, and Winston-Salem, NC and the rest of the "Piedmont Triad Region") and is commonly referred to as "PTI" in local news and advertising. DL simply advertises it as "Greensboro, NC" and AA advertises it as "Greensboro/ High Point/ Winston-Salem, NC." UA appears to simply market it as "Greensboro, NC, US."

I do always find it amusing when you're at the airport for a flight to CVG and the GIS/Gate says "Cincinnati, OH" and well, you won't actually be landing in Ohio when you arrive at CVG.
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Old Jul 20, 2021, 1:45 pm
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Originally Posted by ATOBTTR
I do always find it amusing when you're at the airport for a flight to CVG and the GIS/Gate says "Cincinnati, OH" and well, you won't actually be landing in Ohio when you arrive at CVG.
But you won't be landing in CoVinGton KY either!
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Old Jul 20, 2021, 2:32 pm
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Originally Posted by Herb687
I will go you one better. At one time, different subsystems/partitions within AA decoded the same airport in different ways on the same day. Depending on whether you were checking in online, booking a flight, getting a kiosk boarding pass, or getting a card stock boarding pass with from an agent, your travel to/from VPS might have shown as Valparaiso, Fort Walton Beach, or Destin. Other names (though not used by AA SABRE partitions as far as I recall) for that airport included Eglin AFB and Northwest Florida Regional.

KVPS - one airport, five names, at one time!
AA does indeed have irreconciled systems/ databases. Their smartphone app used to default to MKC as the nearest airport when location services is turned on in the KC metropolitan area. But then it cannot find any flights or status, because MKC has not been operational for commercial, scheduled air service since the 1960s. You have to over-write the pre-populated airport code with MCI.
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Old Jul 20, 2021, 2:41 pm
  #14  
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JSX has been calling CCR (Concord, CA) as "East Bay / Napa". HA Buchanan Field (CCR) is only 33 or so miles away from Napa. Downtown San Francisco is closer to CCR.
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Old Jul 20, 2021, 2:44 pm
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Originally Posted by born sleepy
SNA will always be OCA: Orange County Airport, not that alcoholic racist actor.
Delta (used to at least) call it both! On the screens in ATL it was Orange County in T4/5 I believe, Santa Ana elsewhere.
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