If you watched the news or have paid attention to the headlines recently, you’ve seen the reports of a near miss between a JetBlue flight and a Caribbean Airlines flight at John F. Kennedy International airport in New York on Jan. 19. You’ve also no doubt seen extensive coverage of the AirAsia crash on Dec. 28.
With all this news, you may be wondering whether there are any safe airlines left. Well, the answer is yes, according to AirlineRatings.com. Launched in June 2013 and calling itself “the world’s only safety and product rating website,” earlier this month AirlineRatings.com released its list of the top 10 safest airlines and the top 10 safest low-cost airlines for 2015.
How did they come up with the list? The site's seven-star rating system looks at a variety of factors including audits from the Federal Aviation Administration and the International Civil Aviation Organization as well as government audits and each airlines' fatality record. The editorial team also examined each airline’s operational history, incident records and operational excellence.
Of the 449 airlines surveyed, 149 achieved seven-star ratings but almost 50 have three stars or fewer. Kam Air (Afghanistan), Nepal Airlines, SCAT Airlines (Kazakhstan) and Tara Air (Nepal) have only one star for safety.
Here is the team’s list of the top 10 safest airlines for 2015. After the number one airline, the rest are listed in alphabetical order.
Qantas is #1
Qantas, founded in Australia in 1920 as the Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services Limited, is the country’s largest domestic and international airline.
It has a fatality free record in the jet era, has a significant record of firsts in safety and operations, and is generally accepted as the world’s most experienced airline.
Air New Zealand
In addition to being among the top 10 safest airlines, Air New Zealand was chosen by AirlineRatings.com as its 2015 airline of the year. The airline was selected for the second consecutive year for its in-flight innovations, financial performance, operational safety and motivation of its staff, as well as its continual focus on the environment.
Air New Zealand is being honored for the second consecutive year for its in-flight innovations, financial performance, operational safety and motivation of its staff that have cemented the airline an industry trendsetter. - See more at: http://www.airlineratings.com/news/400/air-new-zealand-wins-2015-airline-of-the-year#sthash.sYYsskUL.dpufAir New Zealand is being honored for the second consecutive year for its in-flight innovations, financial performance, operational safety and motivation of its staff that have cemented the airline an industry trendsetter. - See more at: http://www.airlineratings.com/news/400/air-new-zealand-wins-2015-airline-of-the-year#sthash.sYYsskUL.dpuf
The remaining airlines in the list of the top 10 safest airlines are:
- British Airways
- Cathay Pacific Airways
- Emirates Airlines (United Arab Emirates)
- Etihad Airways (United Arab Emirates)
- EVA Air (Taiwanese airline)
- Finnair
- Lufthansa
- Singapore Airlines
Top 10 safest low-cost airlines
The 10 low-cost airlines on the list have all passed the stringent International Air Transport Association (IATA) Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) and have excellent safety records. Many non-IATA airlines also have chosen to do the IOSA audit, however, any airline that’s a member of IATA must comply with IOSA.
In alphabetical order, they are
- Aer Lingus
- Alaska Airlines
- Icelandair
- JetBlue
- Jetstar (a group of airlines that operates in Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific area)
- Kulula.com (South African airline)
- Monarch Airlines (British airline)
- Thomas Cook (British charter airline)
- TUI Fly (German airline)
- Westjet (Canadian airline)
(Photo: ID1974 / Shutterstock.com)
Comparison of 2014 to 1964
According to AirlineRatings.com, the 12 months of 2014 saw 21 fatal accidents with 986 fatalities, higher than the 10-year average. To put those numbers into perspective, across all airlines, 3.3 billion passengers traveled on 27 million flights. In 1964, there were 87 fatal accidents with 1,597 fatalities with a total of 141 million passengers, which is 5% of 2014’s total.
When you consider these numbers, airline travel really is a safe way to get where you’re going.
Full disclosure: I’ve been on Qantas, Air New Zealand, British Airways, Lufthansa and Singapore Airlines and had great trips on all of them. I’ve also had good trips on Aer Lingus, Alaska Airlines, Icelandair and JetBlue. We'd love to know what your experience has been. Please share your views with us in the comments section.
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Rosalie Donlon
Rosalie Donlon is the editor in chief of ALM's insurance and tax publications, including NU Property & Casualty magazine and NU PropertyCasualty360.com. You can contact her at [email protected].
