Qantas retains “safest airline” title

AirlineRatings.com examined 407 airlines to find the safest in the world.

Airline review website AirlineRatings.com has released its ranking for the safest airlines to fly with for this year, with Qantas topping the list. The Australian carrier has a fatality free record, which helped it to earn a 7 out of 7 safety rating. The other companies in top twenty, in random order, are: Virgin Australia, Air New Zealand, Virgin Atlantic, Alaska Airlines, United Airlines, Singapore Airlines, All Nippon Airlines, Scandinavian Airline System, Cathay Pacific Airways, Emirates, Lufthansa, KLM, Etihad Airways, Japan Airlines, EVA Air, Hawaiian Airlines, Finnair and American Airlines. Of 407 surveyed, 148 were given the seven-star safety ranking, and nearly 50 were awarded three stars or less.

An annual survey of the world’s biggest airlines has seen Qantas named the world’s safest for the third year running.

“Our top safest airlines are always at the forefront of safety innovation, operational excellence and the launching of new more advanced aircraft”.

Unlike a number of low cost carriers, these airlines have all passed the stringent International Air Transport Association Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) and have excellent safety records. Last year, there were 16 air accidents with 560 fatalities – below the 10-year average of 31 accidents and 714 fatalities – and better than 2014, when there were 21 fatal accidents with 986 fatalities.

“In recent years, airline safety has improved very considerably to the point where, typically, there are now very few fatal accidents and fatalities in a year”, said Paul Hayes, Flightglobal’s director of air safety and insurance. In addition to its safety record, the 95-year-old airline has been a pioneer in more ways than one: think the implementation of flight data recorders to help monitor plane, cabin, and crew; automatic landings; and engine monitoring using satellite communications.

It’s the season for travel – and before you book, it’s worth checking AirlineRatings.com’s 2016 update.

While the news was positive for some airlines – it was also disastrous for others.

The lists were compiled by AirlineRatings.com, an independent plane safety and product rating website.

Across the board, many airlines performed well.

Responding to public interest, the AirlineRatings.com editors also identified their top 10 safest low-priced airlines. Thailand’s aviation industry was placed under “special measures” in 2015 after issues were flagged by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).

A total of 10 airlines, all from Nepal, Indonesia or Suriname, qualify for just one or zero stars.