Air NZ is prolonging an offer of "compassionate" discount fares to and from Christchurch as Qantas faces criticism for sticking with normal pricing.

Qantas' mechanical woes continue, with an aircraft flying from Adelaide to Melbourne forced into rapid descent after its cabin depressurised today.

Air New Zealand is taking its relationship with Virgin Blue up a notch, saying it has become a substantial shareholder in the Australian-based airline.

Two Air New Zealand flights have taken off from London's Heathrow Airport this morning.

Hundreds of stranded New Zealanders might be able to make it home for the holidays after all with the news that London's Heathrow Airport is due to reopen on a limited basis this evening, New Zealand time.

US talk show diva Oprah Winfrey and 300 of her biggest fans arrive in Sydney this morning.

The pilot of a Qantas 747 was forced to turn back during a Sydney-Argentina flight when smoke started coming from an instrument panel in the cockpit.

Singapore Airlines has pulled three of its Airbus A380 jumbos from its network due to engine issues.

Qantas will keep its six A380 superjumbos on the ground for at least the next 72 hours, as testing on their Rolls-Royce engines continues after oil leaks were discovered on three aircraft.

Emergency checks found 'anomalies' on three of the fleet's new Rolls-Royce engines, chief executive Alan Joyce said today.

More questions over engines are likely to cause massive delays for Qantas passengers.

Passengers on board a jet when its engine exploded have praised the Qantas flight crew for keeping passengers calm.

Passengers on a Qantas jet heard a boom and saw fire as one of the plane's engines exploded in mid-air.

Musician Jay Cyanide shares his travel tips.