AirlineRatings.com, the world's only airline product and safety rating website, released its 2024 list of the world's safest airlines, with some notable changes.
Last year, Qantas overtook Air New Zealand, which led AirlineRatings.com's list of 385 global airlines in 2022. However, this year, the Australian flag carrier fell to second place by 1.5 points due to the age of its fleet.
Nine foreign airlines made up the top ten, including Virgin Australia, Etihad Airways, Qatar Airways, Emirates, All Nippon Airways, Finnair, and Cathay Pacific Airways.
Alaska Airlines was the only American carrier in the top ten. Hawaiian Airlines, American Airlines, and United Airlines join the top 25.
AirlineRatings.com Editor-in-According to Chief Geoffrey Thomas, analysts evaluated global carriers using multiple criteria.
This included crashes in the past five years, serious incidents in the past two years, government or aviation audits, a carrier's fleet's average aircraft age, and crew training standards.
Thomas said every airline has safety incidents daily, but they usually involve aircraft or engine manufacture rather than operational issues.
“How the flight crew handles these serious incidents determines a good airline from an unsafe one,” Thomas said.
Thomas said, “Our top 25 safest airlines 2024 are always at the forefront of safety innovation, operational excellence, and the launching of new more advanced aircraft, such as the Airbus A350 Boeing 787 and 777-9.”
He added, “Airlines like Emirates launched the 777-300ER and 777-9, and are the biggest A380 operators.”