The board of Air New Zealand held its monthly meeting in Queenstown for the first time in three years behind closed doors at the Rees Hotel yesterday, following an informal function with tourism operators on Thursday evening.
After the meeting yesterday, the board announced it wanted the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission to demonstrate consistency when making a final ruling on its application for a co-operation agreement with Air Canada.
The agreement would involve the two airlines jointly promoting and selling direct flights between Sydney and Vancouver, operated by Air Canada, and Auckland and Vancouver, operated by Air New Zealand. The agreement also provided for the airlines to pool and share revenue in relation to the direct flights.
About 40 tourism operators from around the Wakatipu basin attended the invite-only get-together.
Air New Zealand board chairman John Palmer made a welcoming speech and chief executive Rob Fyfe gave a concise overview of the company and fleet's activities over the next 12 months.
An attendee, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the board warned of tough economic times ahead and the need to work together.
Mr Fyfe referred to Air New Zealand's earlier announcement it was cutting 200 full-time jobs and said it was a difficult decision for the airline to make, another attendee said.
Queenstown Lakes Mayor Clive Geddes attended the social function. He said Mr Palmer and Mr Fyfe "confirmed what everybody has previously understood; that this will not be a year in which we experience any growth in visitor numbers. I think that's something everybody has understood.
"They reaffirmed they were very interested in working with destinations like Queenstown, who were prepared to help themselves, and I think that was very encouraging given the discussions between Air New Zealand and Destination Queenstown."
