The ratings come just in time to address heightened awareness of airline safety in the wake of recent news
AirlineRatings.com, a leading airline safety and product rating website, has released its annual rankings of the world’s safest airlines for 2025. Air New Zealand came out on top after 385 carriers were evaluated based on criteria of serious accidents, fleet age, profitability, pilot training, and incident handling.
Operating in challenging conditions like mountainous terrain and high winds, Air New Zealand credits its rigorous simulator training to its success. New Zealand’s flag carrier also has a generally younger fleet—each aircraft is 10.4 years old on average—which gives it an edge over second-place Qantas.
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With the recent news of aircraft accidents, airline safety records are more important to travellers than ever before. Just in time to address this renewed interest, leading airline safety and product rating website AirlineRatings.com has released its annual rankings of the world’s safest airlines for 2025.
Air New Zealand came out on top after 385 carriers were evaluated based on criteria of serious accidents, fleet age, profitability, pilot training, and incident handling. No surprise, as Air New Zealand was also named the safest airline in 2022 and 2024. Completing the top five is a three-way tie between Cathay Pacific, Emirates, and Qatar Airlines.
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In terms of low-cost carriers, Hong Kong Express stood out, thanks to having virtually no incidents and a fleet averaging seven years old. Ryanair, Jetstar Group, easyJet and Frontier Airlines make up the top five in this category.