Australasian airlines have once again dominated a list of the world’s 25 safest airlines, with Air New Zealand retaining the title it won in January 2024. The Kiwi carrier has now picked up the award for the third time in four years.
Following Air New Zealand on the list, which is compiled annually by airline safety and product website AirlineRatings.com from the 385 carrier it monitors, is Qantas, who won the award in 2023 and finished runner-up last year.
Oneworld airlines Cathay Pacific and Qatar Airways, along with Emirates, placed equal third, while Virgin Australia finished fourth.
Cementing Aussie aviation’s peerless safety standard, Jetstar Group was also named the second-safest budget airline after winning the award last year.
Rounding out the top ten on the list were Etihad, All Nippon Airways, EVA Air, Korean Air, Alaska Airlines and Turkish Airlines.
Among the big movers in the rankings was Vietnam Airlines which placed 22nd in its debut in the list and Korean’s rise to the top ten.
Notable exclusions include aviation giants Singapore Airlines and KLM.
“It was extremely close again between Air New Zealand and Qantas for first place with only 1.50 points separating the two airlines,” AirlineRatings.com CEO Sharon Petersen said.
“Whilst both airlines uphold the highest safety standards and pilot training, Air New Zealand continue to have a younger fleet than Qantas which separates the two.
“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.”
When it comes to low-cost carriers, Hong Kong Express was deemed the world’s safest – for a “relatively flawless” safety record – ahead of Jetstar, Ryanair, easyJet and Frontier Airlines.
New LCC inclusions were ZIP Air, Jet2 and Air Baltic, while beleaguered Spirit Airlines missed the cut.
The world’s safest airlines are determined after a meticulous process combining expert input and hard data. Key factors include serious incidents, fleet age and size, pilot skill, training, profitability and adherence to global standards like IOSA certification.
Incident management is also critical. Pilots and crew often prevent tragedies with training and quick action, as seen in last year’s JAL flight 516 landing incident.
Manufacturing flaws also play a role, with cases like Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 highlighting lapses from aircraft makers.
Overall, flying remains remarkably safe, with a global death risk of 1 in 13.7 million boardings between 2018–2022.
The Top 25 Full-Service Airlines for 2025:
- 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
The Top 25 Safest Low-Cost Airlines for 2025:
- 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
Fear of flying?
The safest airlines list has been released at the same time as Google search data reveals an astronomical rise in the number of Australians searching the term ‘flight anxiety’.
According to Google data uncovered by Glimpse and Semrush, since November 2024, search queries for the topic have increased by 5,614 per cent between November 2024 and 10 January 2025.
“People’s past experiences, personality traits, and levels of general anxiety all play a role in how intensely they experience flying anxiety, making some individuals more prone to it than others,” said Dr Brian Ramos, a researcher, neuroscientist and wellness guru at Simply Nootropics.
“Unfortunately, with the increased news of aviation tragedies, many Aussies may be feeling even worse about their flight anxiety, or may even develop a new sense of unease they didn’t previously have. My goal is to put things back into perspective with some tips to soothe and overcome an anxious mind.”