Some airlines passengers are, understandably, anxious to fly in a metal tube 39,000 feet into the air. However, what’s important to know is that not all airlines are created equal, and some of them have more stringent safety measures in place than others.
The comparison website AirlineRatings.com has a comprehensive database covering 97% of the world’s airlines. They are rated on the number of safety incidents and fatalities, auditing practices, and COVID measures. Here is a summary of the findings.
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Which Are The Safest Airlines To Fly?
- Qantas (Australia)
- Qatar Airways (Qatar)
- Air New Zealand (New Zealand)
- Singapore Airlines (Singapore)
- Emirates (United Arab Emirates)
- EVA Air (Taiwan)
- Etihad Airways (United Arab Emirates)
- Alaska Airlines (United States)
- Cathay Pacific (Hong Kong)
- British Airways (United Kingdom)
- Virgin Australia & Virgin Atlantic (Australia & United Kingdom)
- Hawaiian Airlines (United States)
- Southwest Airlines (United States)
- Delta Air Lines (United States)
- American Airlines (United States)
- SAS (Denmark)
- Finnair (Finland)
- Lufthansa (Germany)
- KLM (The Netherlands)
- United Airlines (United States)
Qantas Is The Safest Airline In The World
According to AirlineRatings.com, the Australian flag carrier has held the top spot for 7 of the past 8 years.
What Are the Safest U.S. Airlines?
U.S. airlines take 6 of the top 20 spots in the worldwide survey, which is a solid showing for the country overall. However, only Alaska Airlines is in the top 10, making it the safest airline to fly within the U.S.
Of the three largest U.S. carriers, Delta is the safest to fly, followed closely by American Airlines, then United.
If flying a budget airline, Spirit and Silver Airways are the least safe, whereas Frontier, Allegiant and Sun Country are the safest.
Related: The 11 Best Airlines for Nervous Flyers
Which Airlines Should I Fly Internationally?
All of the top 20 airlines (except Virgin Australia) fly to the U.S., so carriers like Qatar Airways, Cathay Pacific and Lufthansa are good options to choose when heading abroad.
Conversely, of the international airlines that fly to the U.S., Ethiopian Airlines (Ethiopia), Asiana Airlines (South Korea), Aeroflot (Russia), Sunwing (Canada) and Porter Airlines (Canada) are the least safe.
