Air New Zealand named worlds safest airline, beating Qantas
For the second year in a row, Air New Zealand has been named the world’s safest airline, beating Australia’s national airline, Qantas. Both Air New Zealand and Qantas have gone head to head in airlineratings.com rankings, with just 1.5 points difference between the two large airlines.
Air New Zealand has held the title since 2024 and before that claimed the top spot in 2022, with Qantas taking the number one spot in 2023. Before that, Qantas topped the list between 2013 and 2021.
An Air New Zealand Boeing 777-300ER arriving in Auckland | Photo: Noah Stohr-Waldren
In this year’s rankings, Cathay Pacific, Emirates and Qatar Airways came third equal while Virgin Australia beat Etihad Airways (fifth) for the fourth spot.
Airlineratings.com CEO Sharon Petersen detailed the reasons behind Air New Zealand's slim victory over Qantas.
She said “It was extremely close again between Air New Zealand and Qantas for first place with only 1.50 points separating the two airlines.”
“While both airlines uphold the highest safety standards and pilot training, Air New Zealand continue to have a younger fleet than Qantas, which separates the two.”
AirlineRatings.com evaluates 385 airlines by employing a comprehensive ranking system, considering multiple factors such as the history of fatal accidents, the average age of the airline's fleet, profitability, safety initiatives, audits conducted by governing bodies, and expert evaluations related to pilot training.
One of Air New Zealand’s new modern A321NEO jets in Christchurch | Photo: Noah Stohr-Waldren
Air New Zealand CEO Greg Foran said he was proud of the entire Air New Zealand team and was extra impressed with how “consistently and diligently” the company and staff put “safety at the forefront of everything.”
“Operational integrity is at the heart of our business. We have a strong culture of safety that puts our team and passengers first.”
Foran’s feelings were backed up with Sharon Petersen, telling stating the Kiwi airline’s safety record with no serious crashes or incidents in the modern jet era is what puts them above the rest.