A string of airline disasters, from South Korea to Azerbaijan, has firmly put flight safety back on the agenda for travellers globally. Recently, the established airline safety rating review site AirlineRatings.com published its rankings for 2025.
AirlineRatings.com rates the safety of 385 airlines utilizing a comprehensive system of factors, including how an airline handles incidents, track records of recent incidents, audits from aviation industry bodies, fleet age and size, certification and pilot training. Input also comes from consultations with pilots and aviation experts.
According to their rankings, Air New Zealand again retained the title ‘the world’s safest airline’. The carrier previously won the title in 2024 and 2022. Qantas took second, while there was a three-way tie for third between Cathay Pacific, Emirates and Qatar Airlines.
AirlineRatings.com CEO Sharon Petersen said: “The three-way tie for third place was because we simply could not separate these airlines. From fleet age to pilot skill, safety practices, fleet size, and number of incidents, their scores were identical.”
What the list highlighted was notable absences, such as Singapore Airlines and KLM. However, Ms Petersen emphasized that while these airlines remain exceptionally safe and retain their seven-star safety rating, they narrowly missed out on a spot due to incidents that occurred.
The top 25 full-service airlines for 2025 are:
- 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
AirlineRatings.com also compiled a review of the leading safest low-cost airlines for 2025. Compared to last year’s list, there have been significant changes. Hong Kong Express took top spot as the airline has not had any serious incidents and maintains a relatively flawless safety record. New additions to the list include Zipair, Jet2, and Air Baltic.
The top 25 safest low-cost airlines for 2025 are:
- Hong Kong Express
- Jetstar Group
- Ryanair
- easyJet
- Frontier Airlines
- AirAsia
- Wizz Air
- VietJet Air
- Southwest Airlines
- Volaris
- flydubai
- Norwegian
- Vueling
- Jet2
- Sun Country Airlines
- WestJet
- JetBlue Airways
- Air Arabia
- IndiGo
- Eurowings
- Allegiant Air
- Cebu Pacific
- ZipAir
- SKY Airline
- Air Baltic
How Safe is Flying?
A recent airline safety study showed that the global death risk is about one in 13.7 million. This compares to 1.19 million for the road accident fatality rate.
While these statistics underscore the relative safety of flying, the loss of over 200 lives in December 2024 significantly surpass the 72 fatalities recorded by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) in 2023.
To further assist passengers in making informed decisions, AirlineRatings, in collaboration with Skyscanner, has introduced the world’s first flight booking platform that allows users to search for flights based on safety, price and duration.
Andy Probert is an independent PR writer and journalist who writes about travel experiences, airlines, airports, new tech and business. His work has appeared on the BBC, in The Daily Mail, the Daily Telegraph, The Sun, Daily Mirror, as well as many newspapers/magazines globally.