Australia’s flag carrier Qantas has again been named the world’s safest airline—its third year in a row—in a list released by AirlineRatings.com. Published annually, the independent website bases its examination of 407 carriers on a rating system that considers a variety of factors, such as fatality records, operational history, and incident and inspection reports from aviation governing bodies, independent organizations, and the government. “Our top safest airlines are always at the forefront of safety innovation, operational excellence and the launching of new more advanced aircraft,” AirlineRatings.com editor Geoffrey Thomas said in a statement. “These airlines are always at the forefront for excellence in the safety space.”
Out of all 407 airlines included in the survey, the website says 148 have managed to achieve the full seven-star safety ranking, although it notes that nearly 50 airlines earned three stars or less. Qantas shares the list with 19 other airlines as shown below, in alphabetical order:
- Qantas
- American Airlines
- Alaska Airlines
- All Nippon Airways
- Air New Zealand
- Cathay Pacific Airways
- Emirates
- Etihad Airways
- Eva Air
- Finnair
- Hawaiian Airlines
- Japan Airlines
- KLM
- Lufthansa
- Scandinavian Airline System (SAS)
- Singapore Airlines
- Swiss
- United Airlines
- Virgin Atlantic
- Virgin Australia
Aside from compiling a list of the world’s safest airlines, AirlineRatings.com also unveiled a list of the world’s least safest airlines, which are both full-service and budget carriers that have managed to earn not more than a one-star rating in the survey. Below is the list, in alphabetical order:
- Batik Air
- Bluewing Airlines
- Citilink
- Kal-Star aviation
- Lion Air
- Sriwijaya Air
- TransNusa
- Trigana Air Service
- Wings Air
- Xpress Air
For more information, visit Airline Ratings.
