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About Us
Matt Skinner leads efforts to create economic vitality, sustainability and growth through air service development and corresponding programs. With more than 25 years’ experience in travel, tourism, and public service, including work in six countries, Skinner has an established track record of success and a heartfelt dedication to the clients and regions he serves.
With Airplanners, Global Flights and Colorado Flights Alliance, Skinner has produced record results for air service growth, expanded client markets through the west, established and re-established critical air service, and facilitated successful travel operations from door to destination. Managing public, private, and public/private partnerships with area municipalities, the private sector, and governing counties, Skinner excels at consensus building and collaboration around annual and long range plans for air service growth, including airlines, airports, communities, amenities, assets and stakeholders, and coordinated sales & marketing campaigns.
He recently served as Chair of the Colorado Tourism Office Board of Directors, along with previous work on the Marketing and Travel Resource Committees, managing the state’s tourism budget, as well as servingon multiple travel and destination related Boards throughout the state.
BILL TOMCICH
Bill Tomcich has more than thirty years of experience in the unique field of incenting and attracting airlines into ski resort communities. Under Bill’s leadership as president of Stay Aspen Snowmass from 1998 - 2018, this central reservations and travel agency is now a healthy and profitable operation under its new ownership with Aspen Skiing Company. Even more vital to Aspen Snowmass is the success he has demonstrated in developing commercial air service into the Aspen / Pitkin County Airport (ASE) into what is now one of the strongest direct flight programs of any mountain resort airport.
Prior to being recruited by Aspen Skiing Company in 1995, Bill held the position of air transportation manager for Vail Associates where he was instrumental in developing the direct flight program that now exists at the Eagle County Regional Airport (EGE).erving the Gunnison / Crested Butte Regional Airport (GUC)
Bill’s expert knowledge and analytical understanding of both the ski and hospitality industries along with the airline industry has commanded respect within the Aspen Snowmass community and throughout the Colorado ski industry. He sits on the boards of both the Aspen Chamber Resort Association, and the Colorado Ski and Snowboard Museum and Hall of Fame and is actively involved with regional and statewide air transportation issues. He is best known as Aspen’s foremost commercial aviation expert and local spokesperson on all issues related to airlines and hospitality metrics.
KENT MYERS
Kent Myers is a senior executive with over twenty five years of successful management and operations experience in the resort and travel industries. He has a proven track record in strategic initiatives for new business development, growth, and unique marketing ideas. He is a sales oriented visionary with, outstanding leadership, finance, motivational and team building skills.
He is currently President of Airplanners LLC, an air service marketing and strategic planning firm, which he established in 1999 to develop and manage commercial air service to communities in the US and Canada. Before creating Airplanners he was a member of the senior executive team at Vail Resorts where he held multiple positions with expanding responsibilities. Kent was recruited for the VP of Marketing, promoted to the COO of Beaver Creek, and then the Senior VP of Vail Resorts. Along with his responsibilities as the COO/Senior VP he was the President of the Beaver Creek Resort Company.
During his career at Vail Resorts he developed and managed the strategic plan for marketing, sales, e-commerce, reservations, retail sales, corporate alliances, and air transportation. He was responsible of all the day-to-day operations of Beaver Creek Resort with a staff of over a 1000 employees. While at Vail he directed and managed the officials from Eagle County through the redevelopment of the Eagle County airport using $26 million in FAA funds to accommodate non-stop 757 service from 11 major cities utilizing 5 different airlines in North America. The Eagle County Airport now has over 300,000 seats during the winter, representing 50% of all winter guests visiting Vail/Beaver Creek.
Prior to joining Vail Resort in 1988, Kent served as Vice President, Marketing with responsibilities included day-to-day operations of the marketing, sales, public relations, reservations and advertising at the Steamboat Ski Corporation. In addition, to his other duties, he aided in the redevelopment of the Yampa Valley Regional Airport (HDN) to accommodate 727 and MD-80 jet service. He created and managed non-stop service to HDN to 7 major cities using 4 major airlines. He expanded the program to more than 100,000 winter seats within 3 years.
He effectively utilizes his skills in leadership, team building, and communication talents to successfully grow organizations and increase the quality of service. He is highly knowledgeable and experienced negotiating contracts, creating alliances and leveraging resources in order to increase profits.
Kent is a member of the Colorado Ski Hall of Fame, has served on numerous non-profit, private and publicly traded BOD. He graduated in 1971 from the University of Texas-El Paso with a degree in Business Administration and a minor in Economics.
BRUCE WETSEL
Bruce Wetsel has over 40 years of executive experience in the airline industry, with an outstanding track record for ten different airlines in disciplines ranging from route, fleet, and economic planning, aircraft scheduling, pricing and revenue management, limited access airports, and revenue guarantee programs.
Bruce’s airline career spans a wide variety of executive positions at large and small carriers, including United, Frontier, AirCal, American, Tahoe Air, Alaska, Midwest, Aloha, Mokulele, and Island Air. Over his career Bruce has inaugurated new air service to a wide variety of markets, including revenue guarantee agreements for American Airlines at Eagle County Airport, Gunnison, Jackson Hole, Steamboat Springs, Rochester (MN), and Stewart, NY. At Alaska, he directed the New Market Task Force, including development of Alaska’s East-West route network, from the Pacific NW to Washington DC’s Reagan and Dulles airports, Newark, Boston, Miami, Orlando, Denver, Chicago, Cancun, Guadalajara, and Adak in the Aleutians. As part of the Reagan airport service, Bruce successfully prosecuted Alaska’s applications for valuable long haul DCA slots allowing limited nonstop service from SEA as well as LAX.
Highlights of Bruce’s executive positions include Asst. VP/Managing Director, Capacity Planning at American Airlines; President& CEO, Tahoe Air; VP, Scheduling & Performance Analysis at AirCal; VP, Planning & Revenue Management at Aloha; and Chief Operating Officer at Island Air.
At Tahoe Air, Inc. operated B737’s to LAX and San Jose from S. Lake Tahoe’s environmentally sensitive airport. At Mokulele Air in Hawaii, he successfully started jet service between the primary Hawaiian Island markets, and as COO of Island Air, he ran Dash-8 turbo-prop aircraft to a variety of inter-island destinations. In 2010, Bruce was named one of Hawaii’s top executives for 2009.
Bruce holds BSBA and MBA degrees in Marketing and Economics from the University of Akron, where he taught a variety of Marketing courses in the College of Business Administration, and participated in the Bureau of Business and Economic Research. Bruce also holds a certificate from the Strategic Planning Institute of Chicago.