World's safest airline for 2025 revealed
The world's safest airline has been revealed, with two major carriers from Down Under nabbing the top two spots in the prestigious AirlineRatings.com rankings.
Air New Zealand has been rated the safest airline in the world, with Qantas coming in a close second and only 1.50 points separating the two carriers.
Cathay Pacific, Qatar Airways and Emirates came equal third, while Virgin Australia came in fourth and Etihad Airways in fifth.
“It was extremely close again between Air New Zealand and Qantas for first place with only 1.50 points separating the two airlines,” AirlineRatings.com CEO Sharon Petersen said.
“While both airlines uphold the highest safety standards and pilot training, Air New Zealand continue to have a younger fleet than Qantas which separates the two.”
AirlineRatings.com is the world's only safety and product rating website, and Air NZ also won the title last year and in 2022, with Qantas nabbing the top spot in 2023.
The watchdog monitors 385 airlines and takes into account serious incidents, recent fatal accidents, audits from aviation’s governing and industry bodies, profitability, safety initiatives, expert pilot training assessment and fleet age.
They also shared the rankings for the safest low-cost airlines, with Cathay Pacific-owned Hong Kong Express claiming the top spot and Qantas-owned Jetstar coming in second.
“Everyone at Qantas and Jetstar is incredibly proud of our commitment to safety, which will always be our number one priority. The whole aviation industry is focused on ensuring flying remains the safest way to travel through continual learning and improvement,” A Qantas Group spokesperson told news.com.au.
While Air NZ CEO Greg Foran said: “I’m very proud of our entire Air New Zealand whānau for consistently and diligently putting safety at the forefront of everything we do."
“Operational integrity is at the heart of our business. We have a strong culture of safety that puts our team and passengers first. I’m proud of how this culture has been fostered over many years and how it underpins every aspect of the airline’s everyday operations.”
The Top 25 World's Safest Full-Service Airlines for 2025:
- Air New Zealand
- Qantas
- Cathay Pacific; Qatar Airways; Emirates
- Virgin Australia
- Etihad Airways
- ANA
- EVA Air
- Korean Air
- Alaska Airlines
- Turkish Airlines (THY)
- TAP Portugal
- Hawaiian Airlines
- American Airlines
- SAS
- British Airways
- Iberia
- Finnair
- Lufthansa/Swiss
- JAL
- Air Canada
- Delta Airlines
- Vietnam Airlines
- United Airlines
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