Revealed: The 25 Safest Airlines for 2024 – Air New Zealand is at the top, Alaska Airlines is number 1 in America and British Airways is 15th

Air New Zealand is now the safest airline in the world, according to analysis by a leading aviation group.

Australian based company AirlinesRatings.com annually publishes its list of the safest airlines in the world. The site reviews flight data from 385 airlines, as well as aviation authority account audits, crash and serious incident data, safety initiatives, pilot training, fleet age and more.

Last year's number one airline, Qantas, has fallen to second place and was overtaken by Air New Zealand in 2024 by what the site calls an “incredibly small” margin.

In a list of the 25 safest full-service airlines in the world, British Airways ranks 15th, up two places from last year's 17th place.

At number 10 is Alaska Airlines, the highest-ranked U.S. airline (the rankings were determined before the Jan. 5 crash of Flight 1282). The United States showed a strong performance overall: in addition to Alaska, Hawaiian Airlines (21st), American Airlines (22nd) and United Airlines (25th) all qualified for the top 25. Although Delta Air Lines, which was number 20 in 2023 , has dropped from the top 25 for 2024.

Rivalry for Excellence: Qantas and Air New Zealand often compete for the top spot. Qantas drops to number 2 in 2024 after taking the crown in 2023

Geoffrey Thomas, editor-in-chief of AirlineRatings.com, noted that Air New Zealand “has a firm focus on safety and has excelled across the broad safety spectrum down to the last detail.”

Qantas and Air New Zealand often battle for the top spot – Air New Zealand was previously named the world's safest airline in 2022, while Qantas took the award in both 2023 and 2021. Since 2013, Air New Zealand has been named the safest airline in the world. world seven times.

The praise for the airline came amid recognition that New Zealand's landscape presents particularly challenging weather conditions for pilots. Wellington Airport, for example, is regularly cited as one of the windiest in the world, as we reported.

After the top two, the rest of the top 10 safest airlines consists of Virgin Australia (third), Etihad Airways (fourth), Qatar Airways (fifth), Emirates (sixth), All Nippon Airways (seventh), Finnair (eighth), and Cathay Pacific Airways (ninth).

Editor Geoffrey Thomas was keen to point out that 'the safety margins between the 25 largest airlines are very small'.

He added: 'Our top 25 safest airlines are all industry standouts, leading the way in safety, innovation and new aircraft launches.'

British Airways comes in 15th place, two places higher than last year's 17th place

At number 10 is Alaska Airlines, the highest-ranked U.S. airline (the rankings were determined before the Jan. 5 crash of Flight 1282)

In addition to evaluating the safest airlines in the world, AirlineRatings.com also published a list of the 20 safest low-cost airlines (see sidebar), with Australian budget airline JetStar taking the number one spot.

British stalwart easyJet is named the second safest of the budget airlines, just ahead of Ireland's Ryanair at number three.

Commenting on the list of 20 low-cost carriers mentioned, Mr Thomas said: 'These airlines all have excellent safety cultures and low incident rates.'

AirlineRatings.com explains that it does not take into account phenomena such as bird strikes, turbulence, weather changes and lightning strikes when compiling its lists because airlines have no control over such events.

On the complex issue of incidents, Mr Thomas said all airlines have incidents every day, and many of them are problems with aircraft manufacturing or engines, rather than airline operational problems.

“It is the way the flight crew handles these serious incidents that separates a good airline from an unsafe one,” Thomas said.