AIRLINE SAFETY: Top safest airlines for 2025 revealed. Qantas misses top position because old planes

Whatever you think of the Skytrax empire, AirlineRatings.com has released its airline safety evaluation of the Top 25 Safest Full-Service and Low-Cost Airlines for 2025. To formulate the lists, they have been monitoring 385 carriers worldwide.

Full-Service Airlines: Air New Zealand tops the list

World’s safest airline goes to Air New Zealand, narrowly beating Qantas.

According to AirlineRatings CEO Sharon Petersen, both airlines have exemplary safety standards, but Air New Zealand has a younger fleet compared to the ageing fleet of Qantas.

“It was extremely close again this year, with only 1.50 points separating Air New Zealand and Qantas. Both airlines excel in safety practices and pilot training, but fleet age made the difference.”

Sharon Petersen, Airline Ratings CEO

Third place went to a triumvirate of airlines all with equal scores on the metrics measured: Cathay Pacific, Qatar Airways, and Emirates.

There are some notable movements in this year’s rankings. Korean Air has risen into the top 10. Iberia (16th) and Vietnam Airlines (22nd) have made their debuts on the list. It’s unusual that Singapore Airlines and KLM have not made the list, although both retain seven-star safety ratings. However, they didn’t make the top 25 because of recent safety incidents.

25 Safest Full-Service Airlines 2025

1. Air New Zealand
2. Qantas
3. (Tie) Cathay Pacific, Qatar Airways, Emirates
4. Virgin Australia
5. Etihad Airways
6. ANA
7. EVA Air
8. Korean Air
9. Alaska Airlines
10. Turkish Airlines
11. TAP Portugal
12. Hawaiian Airlines
13. American Airlines
14. SAS
15. British Airways
16. Iberia
17. Finnair
18. Lufthansa/Swiss
19. JAL
20. Air Canada
21. Delta Airlines
22. Vietnam Airlines
23. United Airlines

Low-Cost Airlines: Hong Kong Express heads the pack

Hong Kong Express claims the top position for 2025 with no major incidents. Also new to the list are Zipair, Jet2, and Air Baltic.

Spirit Airlines, is absent this year because of its filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

25 Safest Low-Cost Airlines 2025

1. Hong Kong Express
2. Jetstar Group
3. Ryanair
4. easyJet
5. Frontier Airlines
6. AirAsia
7. Wizz Air
8. VietJet Air
9. Southwest Airlines
10. Volaris
11. flydubai
12. Norwegian
13. Vueling
14. Jet2
15. Sun Country Airlines
16. WestJet
17. JetBlue Airways
18. Air Arabia
19. IndiGo
20. Eurowings
21. Allegiant Air
22. Cebu Pacific
23. ZipAir
24. SKY Airline
25. Air Baltic

You can head over to Airline Ratings and play with their Airline ratings tool. Try listing them by ratings to see the one star airlines like Aeroflot, Air Peace and Capital Airlines.

How Safety Rankings Are Determined

AirlineRatings, a division of Skytrax evaluates airlines using the following safety criteria:

• Serious incidents in the last two years
• Fleet age and size
• Incident rate
• Fatalities
• Profitability and financial stability
• IOSA certification
• ICAO country audit compliance
• Pilot skill and training

IOSA is an internationally recognised airline safety management and control system evaluation protocol. ICAO is a United National agency coordinating international civil aviation regulations and policy.

It’s important to understand that the context behind incidents matters. For example, a minor event on a small fleet could raise more concern than a comparable issue for a larger airline.

“Incident management is crucial. Trained crews and passenger compliance often prevent incidents from escalating,”

Sharon Petersen, Airline Ratings CEO

An example is JAL’s 2024 incident at Haneda Airport. On 2 January 2024, a runway collision occurred involving an Airbus A350-900, operating as Japan Airlines Flight 516, and a De Havilland Canada Dash 8-Q300 operated by the Japan Coast Guard. The incident could have been catastrophic without proper crew action.

Manufacturing defects, like those affecting Alaska Airlines flight 1282, where a 37-day-old Boeing 737’s exit door blew out due to missing bolts, highlight the role external factors can have in safety rankings.

Flying is still safer than travelling on a road

Data shows that air travel remains extraordinarily safe. If we look at statistics between 2018 and 2022, the global fatality risk per aircraft boarding was one in 13.7 million. In contrast, road accidents claimed 1.19 million lives in 2023.

2PAXfly Takeout

Air travel is incredibly safe, but it is good to have some measure of safety across airlines. I know that I look up these safety ratings if I am flying with a new airline or in an area notorious for a lack of safety. Did someone say Indonesia?

A good rating is no protection from an accident, but does indicate the odds.