With MRO Europe happening this week in London, we thought October would be a great time to talk about air travel in England and Kapco Global’s strategic location therein. Kapco’s been part of England’s aviation MRO community for seven years now and we’ve enjoyed every minute of it.
England has scores of airports across its 50,346 square miles of land mass. The largest and best known, of course, being Heathrow International Airport in London. With 80 airlines and 185 destinations served, Heathrow is notable for holding the title of world’s third busiest airport, serving more than 73 million passengers in 2014, according to its website. In fact, when it comes to commercial air travel in England and the UK, business is booming. The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) reports that passengers traveling from UK airports hit 238 million in 2014—that’s just 3 million short of their record high, dating back to 2007, the year before the global financial crisis.
So where are the customers of England’s busiest airports going? Around Europe, generally, and to Spain in particular. That being said, it should come as no surprise that Kapco just happens to have a strategic location in Madrid. And while Spain is interesting enough for a blog topic all its own (and we don’t want to get all “advertisey” on you), it is worth quickly noting that when it comes to international commercial aviation MRO, single entity strategic component distribution centers can help streamline inventory processes and ensure you have the parts you need when you need them.
According to the CAA, Spain has been UK travelers’ top destination spot for the past 25 years. But it had some competition in 2014. The CAA shows travel from the UK to Greece was up 13.2 percent last year. Outside Europe, travel to the United Arab Emirates was up 7.4 percent, while travel to Australia saw the biggest decline, decreasing from 744,000 in 2013 to 488,000 in 2014.
But across the UK, air travel growth is uneven. In fact, the CAA reports that traffic actually dropped in most places, with all of the increases coming from England airports servicing London and its surrounding environs.
Kapco UK is located in Bordon, Hampshire, which is about an 80-minute drive to London by car via the A3 road. From this facility, we are able to quickly deliver the MRO components and supply chain inventory services that busy London airports need to keep their airlines safely meeting the travel demands of millions of annual passengers.
If you’d like more information about our Bordon facility, contact us today. This page will also fill you in on the locations of all our worldwide facilities.
If you’re attending MRO Europe, be sure to stop by booth 508 and say hello!
