Globetrotters can have peace of mind when they travel as the safest airlines for 2025 have been revealed!

On Sunday, Jan. 12, AirlineRatings.com unveiled its annual list of the world’s safest full-service and low-cost airlines from the 385 it monitors.

They assessed serious incidents over the past two years, fleet age, fleet size, rate of incidents, fatalities, profitability, IOSA certification, ICAO country audit pass, as well as pilot skill and training.

Taking first place, Air New Zealand was named this year’s safest company for full-service air travel.

Qantas ranked second, while Cathay Pacific, Qatar Airways, and Emirates scored joint third place.

Air New Zealand plane at Auckland Airport.

Brendon O’Hagan/Bloomberg via Getty


Next was Virgin Australia, followed by Etihad Airways fifth, ANA in sixth, EVA Air seventh, Korean Air eighth, Alaska Airlines ninth, and finally in the 10th spot Turkish Airlines (THY).

TAP Portugal just missed out on a space in the top 10, while Hawaiian Airlines ranked 12th followed by American Airlines, SAS, and British Airways.

Iberia ranked 16th, ahead of Finnair, Lufthansa/Swiss and JAL.

Concluding the list was Air Canada as the 20th safest, followed by Delta Airlines, Vietnam Airlines, and United Airlines.

Hong Kong Express Airways plane at Hong Kong International Airport.

Paul Yeung/Bloomberg via Getty


This year is the first that Iberia and Vietnam Airlines ranked in AirlineRatings.com’s safest airlines list. Notably, Korean Air has risen in the rankings to be included in the top 10.

Singapore Airlines and KLM missed out this year due to incidents that happened, but the website states they are “exceptionally safe” and still have a seven-star rating.

“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 in a statement. 

She added, “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,” she continued. “From fleet age to pilot skill, safety practices, fleet size, and number of incidents, their scores were identical.”

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Meanwhile, Hong Kong Express was crowned the safest low-cost airline for 2025, with Jetstar Group, Ryanair, easyJet, Frontier Airlines, AirAsia, and Wizz Air following behind.

VietJet Air ranked eighth, with Southwest Airlines ninth and Volaris in tenth place.

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The list of airlines continued with flydubai, Norwegian, Vueling, Jet2, Sun Country Airlines, and WestJet.

JetBlue Airways ranked 17th spot, while Air Arabia, IndiGo, and Eurowings were placed at 18, 19, and 20.

Allegiant Air, Cebu Pacific, ZipAir, SKY Airline, and Air Baltic achieved a spot in the final five safest Low-Cost Airlines for 2025.

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