World’s 10 safest airlines revealed
Qantas remains the world’s safest airline, according to the latest list from AirlineRatings.com.
The airline safety website, which monitors 449 airlines worldwide, has published its list of the top 10 safest airlines, and also the world’s top 10 safest low-cost airlines.
The top 10 safest airlines also include, in alphabetical order, Air New Zealand, British Airways, Cathay Pacific Airways, Emirates, Etihad Airways, EVA Air, Finnair, Lufthansa and Singapore Airlines.
The top 10 safest low-cost airlines, in alphabetical order, are Aer Lingus, Alaska Airlines, Icelandair, Jetblue, Jetstar, Kulula.com, Monarch Airlines, Thomas Cook, TUI Fly and Westjet.
In announcing the list, the website said: "There is no doubt 2014 was a bad year for airline safety with some of the most tragic and bizarre incidents in modern history but the numbers can be deceiving.
"Certainly 21 fatal accidents with 986 fatalities – higher than the 10-year average – is sickening. However, the world’s airlines carried a record 3.3 billion passengers on 27 million flights.
“Flashback 50 years and there were a staggering 87 crashes killing 1,597 when airlines carried only 141 million passengers – 5 per cent of today’s number."
It said that in another twist, fatal accidents for 2014 were at a record low 21 – one for every 1.3 million flights.
"Two of the crashes last year – MH370 and MH17 – were unprecedented in modern times and claimed 537 lives," it added.
The website’s rating system takes into account criteria relating to audits from governing bodies such as the FAA and ICAO, as well as government audits and the airline’s fatality record.
Of the 449 airlines surveyed, 149 have the top seven-star safety ranking, but almost 50 have just three stars or less.
Four airlines only achieved one star for safety from AirlineRatings.com – Kam Air, Nepal Airlines, Scat and Tara Air.
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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