Here’s the latest ranking of the world’s safest airlines for 2025, based on AirlineRatings.com and corroborated by major news outlets (reflecting industry-wide consensus):
🛫 Top-Ranked Full-Service Airlines (2025)
- Air New Zealand – Topped the full-service list in both January and again recently, narrowly edging out Qantas by just 1.5 points, thanks to its young fleet and rigorous safety standards.
- Qantas – A perennial safety leader, ranking a tight second behind Air NZ for 2025 .
- Cathay Pacific, Qatar Airways, Emirates – Shared a three-way tie for third place, all scoring identically on fleet, pilot training, and incident history .
- Virgin Australia – Ranked fourth.
- Etihad Airways – Placed fifth .
Other top-ten full-service carriers include ANA, EVA Air, Korean Air, Alaska Airlines, Turkish Airlines.
✈️ Safest Low-Cost Airlines (2025)
- Hong Kong Express – Holds the top spot for low-cost carriers.
- Jetstar Group, Ryanair, easyJet, Frontier, AirAsia, Wizz Air, VietJet, Southwest, Volaris round out the top 10.
🔍 Context & Methodology
- Rankings are derived from AirlineRatings.com, assessing 385 airlines on factors such as serious incidents, fleet age, pilot training, certifications (IOSA/ICAO), financial health, and incident management.
- Independent sources like Forbes, Travel + Leisure, NDTV, and industry websites corroborate Air New Zealand’s top ranking and the tight race with Qantas.
- While Singapore Airlines and KLM maintain seven-star ratings, they narrowly missed making the top 25 due to minor recent incidents.
📝 Key Takeaways
- Air New Zealand remains the world’s safest airline in 2025, continuing its dominance.
- Qantas stays firmly in second place.
- A close three-way tie marks Cathay Pacific, Qatar Airways, and Emirates as top-tier safe carriers.
- Virgin Australia and Etihad maintain strong showings in the top 5.
- In the low-cost segment, Hong Kong Express leads, followed by Jetstar and Ryanair.
