Travel news: poor start for Jetstar, icy roads and big flights from Aus

SOME travel news for you this morning, as ice alerts again hit parts of the country.

Police are warning that the worst ice conditions for twenty years have turned the Nelson and Marlborough areas into ice rinks.

Elsewhere, new data on airline punctuality has been made available. The latest airline to open in NZ, Qantas-owned Jetstar, has revealed its to-time efficiency for its first few weeks operating.

Jetstar's figures showed that in the first six days of operation, 20 percent of flights ran within 15 minutes of schedule. By the middle of last week, that had improved to 61.5 percent.

The Otago Daily Times reported, that airlines' figures would be given to the Commerce Commission and were expected to be made public, according to Board of Airlines Representatives executive director John Beckett.

Jetstar has run into trouble as half of the airline's domestic services departed more than an hour late in the early days.

Yet the ODT reports the airline is unrepentant over leaving rugby fans stranded.

Meanwhile Jetstar owners, Qantas, has revealed plans to increase its super-jumbo flights from Sydney to London and Los Angeles. The airline said it would take delivery of three new aircraft before the end of the year.

"Our fourth A380 arrives at the end of July, allowing us to increase Sydney-Singapore-London A380 services from three to five per week, and Sydney-Los Angeles services from three to four per week," said group executive Qantas Airlines commercial, Mr Rob Gurney.

"The arrival of our fifth and sixth aircraft later in the year will mean further increases in services to these key destinations."

The Qantas A380 Airbus is configured to carry 450 passengers across four classes and on two decks.