A day after criticising Air New Zealand for cancelling services to Dunedin, Otago Chamber of Commerce chief executive John Christie received a "blunt" phone call from the man responsible for the decision.
Mr Christie confirmed he received a call from Air New Zealand Tasman Pacific general manager Glen Sowry after the release this week of a newsletter criticising the airline.
"We had a pretty blunt conversation."
The conversation centred on the chamber's latest newsletter, which described Air New Zealand's decision to cancel services as "disappointing" and its decision not to inform the chamber as "insulting".
Last month, the airline decided to reduce its transtasman services, cutting international flights from Dunedin International Airport for three months of the year. Mr Christie said that decision was detrimental to business and the tourism industry.
After the release of the newsletter to the chamber's 1500 members and an article in the Otago Daily Times, Mr Christie received the call from Mr Sowry. The dialogue between the two was "full and frank", Mr Christie saying the chamber wanted to ensure "we have the best service for our city".
Mr Christie told Mr Sowry the airline needed to schedule the flights "the region deserves before someone does it for you".
Mr Sowry did not return calls yesterday.
