10 minutes with…

Chris Klinker, Fly2Events

In this series of interviews, we delve into the experiences of the professionals in the Take2Eton Group. We start with Chris Klinker, Head of our specialist Fly2Events division.

Chris’ team services the travel needs of the MICE sector, academia, and the pharmaceutical industry. He’s worked in the events industry for 42 years and there’s no sign of him retiring yet! But how did a lifetime love affair with events start, what changes has Chris seen over the last four decades and why is he so excited about what lies ahead?

About me

Rumours of my retirement are definitely misinformed. I started at what was then Eton Travel, a UK-based independent TMC, forty-two years ago, and I’m looking forward to plenty more ahead. 30 years ago, I set up a division which handled travel to events and events on the ground. In 2001 I became a major shareholder and director of the company.

Since then, I’ve been involved with moving individuals and groups around the world, anything from 50 to several hundred people, either on a single aircraft or traveling from different places to a single destination.

Why I love events, and the advice I give to those coming into the industry

I just love the airline industry. I’m fascinated when airlines open up new routes or upgrade their cabins. Travel is in your soul, and once you’re involved in the travel industry, it becomes part of your DNA. Travel and languages are my hobbies and my passion. I love asking clients why they’ve picked a particular destination, or what their expectations are in taking a group to another.

I always encourage anyone coming into the events industry to take every opportunity to travel, even if they think not the most exciting destination, because once there, they’re going to experience a different way of life. Places like Belgium or Ireland are so close to us in the UK, but they’re so different once you’re there.

What sets Fly2Events aside from other competitors in the marketplace?

We are the best at what we do. The big difference between Fly2Events and our competitors is that all my team understand our clients, we understand what they do, what their event is about and what’s needed to travel to their event. They don’t organise the ground programme, but they understand it’s purpose and content; why people have to be there at a certain time, what they can (and can’t) do. We are well versed in the things delegates try to get away with that add cost to the client’s budget.

We’re not a general travel agent. We work in a market we understand implicitly and have excellent relationships with our suppliers, including most airlines.

Favourite event I worked on

I helped organise travel for the Coca-Cola Centenary, for which thousands of delegates traveled from all over the world to Atlanta. It was one of the biggest projects Fly2Events has ever managed. It was demanding, but a great success. And for someone like Coca-Cola, one of the world’s leading companies, to appoint Fly2Events, is special.

What does the future hold for me

At some stage I will retire and want to do something different. Before the pandemic I owned a bar in Spain as well as running the event division here. I enjoyed having a bar and the banter with my customers. It’s similar to travel because it’s about interacting and communication; I’m a people person so it suited me very well. I’ll probably do that again.

As to where the bar will be, I’ve been lucky to travel everywhere from the Antarctic to the Arctic, but my favourite destination is Benidorm, in Spain. That’s where I see myself when I finally finish at Fly2Events, living between the UK and Spain.

When will that be?

It won’t be anytime soon. Becoming integrated into the Take2Eton Group has given us the chance to grow the business because of the economies of scale we now enjoy and the access to better technology.

Before the pandemic, there was a lot that we didn’t have, which stopped us competing directly with larger travel and event companies. Now we can, we do, and we win.

“I just love the airline industry. I’m fascinated when airlines open up new routes or upgrade their cabins. Travel is in your soul, and once you’re involved in the travel industry, it becomes part of your DNA. ”