How safe is flying ?
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Air New Zealand puts safety first
Air New Zealand has come out on top for safety as a full-service airline , according to AirlineRatings . com .
The company released its Top 25 Safest Full-Service Airlines and Top 25 Safest Low-Cost Airlines for 2025 from a list of 385 airlines it monitors .
The top 10 in the Full-Service Airlines category were Air New Zealand , Qantas , Cathay Pacific , Qatar Airways , Emirates , Virgin Australia , Etihad , ANA , Eva Air , and Korea Air .
AirlineRatings . com CEO Sharon Petersen said the margin between Air New Zealand and Qantas was extremely close for first place with only 1.50 points separating the two airlines .
“ While both airlines uphold the highest safety standards and pilot training , Air New Zealand continues to have a younger fleet than Qantas , which separates the two ,” she said .
“ The three-way tie for third place – Cathay , Qatar and Emirates - 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 .”
Compared to last year ’ s list , some of the most significant changes include the inclusion of Iberia and Vietnam Airlines ( which have made their list debut ), as well as Korean Air ’ s rise into the top 10 . Notable absences this year are Singapore Airlines and KLM .
Ms Petersen emphasised that while these airlines remain exceptionally safe and retain their seven-star safety rating , they just narrowly missed out on a top 25 spot this year due to incidents that occurred .
In the Top 25 Safest Low-Cost Airlines for 2025 , the top 10 were Hong Kong Express , Jetstar Group , Ryanair , easyJet , Frontier Airlines , AirAsia , Wizz Air , VietJet Air , Southwest Airlines , and Volaris .
AirlineRatings . com compiles its two lists in consultation with pilots and aviation experts and takes into consideration serious incidents over the past two years , fleet age , fleet size , fatalities , rate of incidents , profitability , pilot skill and training .
The company says it is essential to evaluate all of these factors in the appropriate context . For instance , an airline operating only 100 aircraft that experiences three incidents
in a calendar year raises greater concern than an airline with 800 aircraft experiencing six incidents . Additionally , financial instability within an airline can lead to significant operational challenges , automatically disqualifying it as a candidate . Similarly , any airline found at fault for a crash or failing its IOSA certification cannot be considered .
In last year ’ s list , Air New Zealand ranked fourth among the top premium airlines and Jetstar took the top spot as the safest low-cost airline in the world .
In 2023 , Air New Zealand was crowned the top airline in the world , which was then based on a seven-star safety rating that incorporated leadership in innovation for passenger comfort . S
How safe is flying ?
A team of researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have revealed that between 2018 and 2022 , the global death risk per flight boarding was approximately one in 13.7 million .
In comparison , the World Health Organization ( WHO ) estimated 1.19 million fatalities from road accidents in 2023 , equating to more than two deaths per minute .
44 Executive PA | Autumn Issue 2025