A mother who lost a son in the Air NZ Airbus crash off France is saddened to see blame being meted out to the people involved.

Air NZ has hit out at an aviation safety specialist's interpretation of what went on before an Airbus A320 crashed into the Mediterranean off France in 2008.

Air New Zealand crew encouraged the pilots of an Airbus 320 to carry out tests minutes before the plane crashed off the coast of France, a specialist said.

Experts for French prosecutors probing the crash of an Air NZ jet in 2008 agree with air safety investigations which blame human error.

Tranport Minister Steven Joyce has told the Civil Aviation Authority to shape up after a critical report from the Auditor-General.

All seven people aboard an Airbus A320 test flight died when it crashed in 2008. Air NZ said it could not confirm a report that an announcement would be made tonight regarding the crash.

Four soldiers, three of them Australian, have been killed in a helicopter crash in Afghanistan.

Six Australian mining executives, including one of the country's richest men, breached protocol by boarding a plane that has gone missing in West Africa.

Will a new European climate change travel tax damage NZ tourism?

Cheeky air travellers have found a way to bend the rules by using self-service kiosks in domestic terminals.

Jetstar's planned Auckland-Singapore service is set to slash fares on the route and could mark the start of increased no-frills long-haul flying out of NZ.

Low-cost airline Jetstar is launching a new daily direct service between Auckland and Singapore in time for the Rugby World Cup.

It's easy to feel a bit cynical when airlines and aircraft manufacturers proclaim the dawning of a new age for passengers.

Air NZ says reports one of its planes was on a collision course with another aircraft are nothing more than "sensationalist" media coverage.

An investigation has begun into why a Virgin Australia Boeing 777 and an Air New Zealand 767 were on a collision course in Fiji air space last month.