AirlineRatings.com, a fully dedicated air travel site, publishes a list annually world's safest airlines.
The company safety assessment system was developed with the help of specialists from the UN International Civil Aviation Organization.
To compile the list, site experts evaluate:
- each company for compliance with international standards;
- the number of deaths over the past decade;
- the aging of the aircraft fleet;
- whether the country in which the airline is located meets the eight-point safety scale of the International Civil Aviation Organization.
As a result, out of 405 air carriers, 20 companies were selected, which passed the test flight at "five out of five". We have selected the top 10 safest airlines in 2019 from different parts of the world from this list. Airlines located in Russia have their own safety rating.
10. Air New Zealand (New Zealand)
Despite the fact that the new century for the New Zealand company did not start very well - as a result of poor decisions of the management came the financial crisis - now it clearly feels better. It's not for nothing that AirlineRatings.com has ranked Air New Zealand among the safest airlines for the third year in a row.
Over the past twenty years, there has not been a single accident on the aircraft of this air carrier that could endanger the lives of passengers and crew.
9. Alaska Airlines (USA)
Although the airline is called Alaska, it is actually headquartered in Seattle, an American city in the state of Washington. It is arguably the most popular airline on the entire west coast of North America. Two years ago, the company expanded its presence in the air travel market further by acquiring Virgin America, which ceased to exist as a separate brand.
Alaska Airlines hasn't had a major accident since 2000, when a plane with 88 people on board crashed into the waters of the Gulf of California. Unfortunately, they all died.
8. All Nippon Airlines (Japan)
The airline was founded in 1954, and since then pleases its passengers with truly Japanese, refined and polite service and quality of service.
Last year, Skytrax, the ranking website for air carriers, ranked All Nippon Airlines among the six the world's best airlines... The Japanese carrier had no accidents for over 45 years.
7. Emirates (UAE)
Over the past 20 years, the Middle East air carrier has become more and more popular. It was created under the protectorate of the Sultan of the Arab Emirates to develop and popularize tourism, but since then it has become one of the largest air operators in the Middle East.
Arab Airlines are distinguished not only by the elite level of service, but also by the impressive absence of accidents. In 31 years of its existence, Emirates has experienced only one serious accident. At the same time, out of 282 passengers and 18 crew members, no one died, and only 14 people went to the hospital.
6. Eva Air (Taiwan)
The main feature of one of the safest airlines in 2019, which sets it apart from the rest, is the numerous Hello Kitty images on the aircraft hulls.
However, despite the frivolous design, the Taiwanese carrier is considered one of the best in the whole of Southeast Asia. The airline has not had a single major incident since its inception in 1988.
5. Hawaiian Airlines (USA)
Founded in 1929, one of the oldest airline companies in the United States, it has earned a well-deserved reputation for safety and comfort ever since.
Now the airline has more than 50 aircraft in its fleet. And for the entire time of its existence, that is, more than 99 years, the company has not had a single accident with deaths.
4. Lufthansa (Germany)
One of the most famous airlines in Europe and around the world, every year, more than 100 million people are transported around the globe. And its air fleet includes 290 aircraft.
Since 1993, when a passenger plane crashed to the ground at Warsaw airport (two of 48 people died), the airline has not had fatal accidents.
3. SAS (Scandinavian countries)
“Scandinavian Airlines” (this is how the abbreviation SAS stands for Scandinavian Airlines) is the most popular airline among our northern neighbors. 50% of it belongs to the states of the three Scandinavian countries - Sweden, Norway and Denmark, and the remaining 50% are in the hands of private investors.
However, despite some leadership disunity, the airline has high safety standards. The last tragic incident took place in 2001, when a Scandinavian Airlines passenger liner collided with a Cessna aircraft over the Milan airport. All 114 people aboard both aircraft were killed.
2. Virgin Airlines (UK)
The company was formed in 1984 by two flying enthusiasts who later sold it to multimillionaire Richard Branson. Then the situation for Virgin Airlines was not easy - they had to fight for existence with the British aviation giant British Airways, which did not hesitate to resort to dubious tricks.
Despite all the difficulties, Virgin Airlines managed to survive and gain the reputation of the second safest and most reliable airline in the world. Since 2012, 49% of the company has been owned by US-based Delta Airlines. Throughout its existence, the company has not had a single fatal accident. Also, the subsidiary Virgin Australia, created 15 years later, did not have a single serious accident.
In all, over 34 years of existence, Virgin Airlines had only three accidents:
- chassis failure (passengers got by with minor bruises);
- failure of the fuel management system (during the entire flight until the forced landing in Amsterdam, the crew pumped fuel manually);
- and a bad take-off at Hong Kong airport (no one was hurt).
1. Quantas (Australia)
Although the compilers of the airline safety ratings preferred to list the winners in alphabetical order, they chose to make an exception for one participant. The Quantas results were so astonished that the AirlineRatings.com experts decided to award the Australian airline the title of the safest airline in the world at the beginning of 2019.
Over its almost 100-year history (founded in 1921), the company has accumulated vast experience in the field of operation and safety on its flights, and now generously shares its knowledge with others. Quantas specialists are developing a next-generation air navigation system and have created a flight data recorder to monitor the operation of the aircraft and crew. Now, with the help of a navigation satellite system, it is possible to land an aircraft with high accuracy on autopilot, and also safely navigate the vehicle through the mountains during high clouds.
Quantas also became one of the first airlines in the world to track the status of all aircraft in its fleet in real time. This allows problems to be diagnosed before they become a direct threat to the safety of the aircraft and everyone in it.