Australian flag carrier Qantas has once again been named as the world’s safest airline by industry publication AirlineRatings.com. Qantas has consistently claimed pole position in the prestigious ranking of the world’s safest (and least safe) airlines. The Sydney-based carrier has also been awarded the sixth most punctual airline in the world – going to prove that pushing for an on-time departure doesn’t necessarily compromise safety.
Using a variety of metrics, including aircraft accidents, Airline Ratings has assembled a list of the 20 safest airlines in the world – although the rating organisation has decided not to rank every one of them from 1 through to 20. Instead, here’s the list in alphabetical order:
Air New Zealand, Alaska Airlines, All Nippon Airways, American Airlines, Austrian Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific Airways, Emirates, EVA Air, Finnair, Hawaiian Airlines, KLM, Lufthansa, Qantas, Qatar Airways, Scandinavian Airline System, Singapore Airlines, Swiss, and United Airlines and Virgin group of airlines (Atlantic and Australia).
Most of the airlines on the list aren’t much of a surprise but there have been some movers and shakers. The airlines that didn’t make the cut after being included in 2018 are: Austrian Airlines, Etihad Airways, Japan Airlines and Royal Jordanian. While American Airlines, Qatar Airways, SWISS and United Airlines took their places in the prestigious lineup.
“It is extraordinary that Qantas has been the lead airline in virtually every major operational safety advancement over the past 60 years and has not had a fatality in the jet era,” explained the site’s Editor-in-Chief Geoffrey Thomas.
“But Qantas is not alone. Long established airlines such as Hawaiian and Finnair have perfect records in the jet era.”
At the other end of the spectrum, the world’s least safe airlines include: Ariana Afghan Airlines, Bluewing Airlines, Kam Air, Tara Air and Trigana Air Service. North Korea’s infamous and dilapidated national airline, Air Koryo surprisingly didn’t make the list.
While Qantas has an enviable record in never having had a fatality in the jet era, other airlines such as Hawaiian and Finnair have also had perfect records.
