Airline safety and product rating review website, Airline Ratings, has revealed its ranking of the safest airlines this year, Air New Zealand topping the list for full-service and Jetstar leading the low-cost category.
To compile the ranking, Airline Ratings editors analyse 385 airlines (with over 50 jet aircraft) worldwide and score them based on a 7-star system. Criteria include incident records over the past two years, crash records over the past five years, results of audits conducted by aviation governing bodies and lead associations, such as the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), EU banned lists, industry-leading safety initiatives, fleet age and aircrew training.
For the most accurate results related solely to airlines’ performance, the analysis leaves out events that are out of the control of the airline, such as bird strikes, injuries resulting from turbulence, weather diversions and lightning strikes. Problems resulting from manufacturing issues, such as engine failures are also not taken intro account, however, the way crew are trained and respond to such events do count.
In selecting Air New Zealand as the world’s safest full-service airline for 2024, AirlineRatings.com editors noted that the airline “has a firm focus on safety and has excelled across the broad safety spectrum right down to the smallest detail”. Separated by only 1.5 points from Air New Zealand, Qantas took second place.
On the other hand, Qantas’ low-cost subsidiary, Jetstar, took first place among the safest low-cost airlines. “There is no question that Jetstar is a first-rate low-cost airline”, said Airline Ratings’ Editor-in-Chief Geoffrey Thomas.
1. World’s safest full-service airlines in 2024
- Air New Zealand
- Qantas
- Virgin Australia
- Etihad Airways
- Qatar Airways
- Emirates
- All Nippon Airways
- Finnair
- Cathay Pacific Airways
- Alaska Airlines
- SAS
- Korean Air
- Singapore Airlines
- EVA Air
- British Airways
- Turkish Airlines
- TAP Air Portugal
- Lufthansa/Swiss Group
- KLM
- Japan Airlines
- Hawaiian Airlines
- American Airlines
- Air France
- Air Canada Group
- United Airlines
2. World’s safest low-cost airlines in 2024
- Jetstar
- easyJet
- Ryanair
- Wizz
- Norwegian
- Frontier
- Vueling
- Vietjet
- Southwest
- Volaris
- flydubai
- AirAsia Group
- Cebu Pacific
- Sun Country
- Spirit
- Westjet
- JetBlue
- Air Arabia
- Indigo
- Eurowings
