Mr Chin (73), who was mayor from 2004 to 2010, collapsed shortly after Flight NZ5032 left Dunedin for Wellington just before noon on New Year's Eve.
He was pulled to the floor by a female flight attendant and resuscitated as the flight returned to Dunedin.
Speaking to the Otago Daily Times yesterday, he said his recovery from bypass surgery in Dunedin Hospital was going well.
''Every day I feel better than the day before,'' Mr Chin said.
After having stopped breathing, he was happy just to have survived and once again credited the actions of two flight attendants and passengers on board for saving his life.
''It's great to be alive.''
Following the operation, he spent a day in intensive care and four more on a ward before leaving the hospital on January 12.
Since then, he had been steadily recovering, but occasionally got frustrated his recovery was not happening quicker.
''It's a slow process in terms of getting your breathing right. So if you rush things, suddenly you get into trouble breathing.''
He was ''following all the rules'' and exercising at the gym daily and hoped to be ''back to 100%'' within another month.
''I might be a bit optimistic.''
He thanked staff at Dunedin Hospital for the standard of their care.
