National transtasman air carriers Air New Zealand and Qantas are on markedly different courses, Air New Zealand having reported a healthy profit and buoyed by bright outlook, while Qantas, which booked a heavy financial loss, has announced massive redundancies.
Australia's national airline has delivered a nightmare half-year result, including the axing of 5000 jobs, costing $500 million, as it targets $A2 billion ($NZ2.15 billion) in cost savings.
The decision by Qantas to increase the number of flights between Sydney and Queenstown and run a daily service during the Easter school holidays and peak ski season makes the resort an impulse family weekend getaway, Destination Queenstown says.
Qantas will cut 1000 jobs and issued a grim profit warning following a "marked deterioration" in trading conditions in November.
Qantas has been barred from preparing for a transtasman alliance with Emirates due to concerns the deal would lead to inflated airfares between Australia and New Zealand.
Australian national carrier Qantas Group warned yesterday its profit could fall by up to 91% in the year ended June as it feels the hurt of increased fuel costs, the high value of the Australian dollar and weak markets.
Qantas is expected to announce it is shedding more than 400 jobs in its engineering department as it closes down its heavy maintenance base at Tullamarine Airport.
Qantas will end flights from Auckland to Los Angeles in May as part of cost-cutting measures that also include job losses, delayed orders for new aircraft and the early retirement of others.
If Graham Murphy and Richie O'Hara had their way, they would never fly with Qantas again.
The Australian Federal Police are looking into an act of alleged sabotage involving a Qantas plane.
Australia's Qantas Airways plans to cut fares and launch an advertising blitz to win back passengers, a newspaper said, after its showdown with unions caused international travel chaos and left almost 70,000 travellers stranded.
Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard has criticised Qantas for taking "an extreme approach" by grounding its fleet at the weekend.
Two Qantas flights at Queenstown Airport were cancelled yesterday as the airline grounded planes, preventing plane-loads of passengers from flying.
Qantas says it avoided 50 weather-related diversions at Queenstown Airport, including the winter blasts of snow on July 24 and August 14, thanks to innovative navigation technology.
Qantas and subsidiary Jetstar have cancelled all flights in and out of New Zealand for the rest of today and all day tomorrow due to the ash cloud still lingering from a Chilean volcano.
Jetstar has followed Qantas' lead and resumed all flights in and out of New Zealand today as the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) says the Chilean volcano's ash cloud disruptions may have ended here.
Qantas and its subsidiary Jetstar have cancelled all flights in and out of New Zealand today due to the ash cloud still lingering from a Chilean volcano.
Australia's flagship carrier Qantas says it has reached an $A95 million ($NZ124m) settlement with Rolls-Royce over last year's mid-air disintegration of a superjumbo engine, which temporarily forced the grounding of its entire fleet of A380s.
Air New Zealand resumed flights to Queenstown yesterday, with one from Auckland arriving at midday.
Qantas and Jetstar flights from Australia were still grounded yesterday as the rising Chilean volcanic ash cloud continued to disrupt the carriers' flight paths.
