Qantas ranked world’s safest airline fourth year running
Australia's largest airline, Qantas, has started the year on a high after being named the world’s safest airline by peak safety and product rating website AirlineRatings.com.
The website, which rates over 425 airlines worldwide, awarded the Aussie carrier the number one ranking for a fourth consecutive year - an achievement AirlineRatings.com editor Geoffrey Thomas said was based on the airline’s outstanding record.
"Qantas has been the lead airline in virtually every major operational safety advancement over the past 60 years."
"Over its 96-year history Qantas has amassed an amazing record of firsts in safety and operations and is accepted as the world's most experienced airline," he said.
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The Australian carrier tops the 2017 list with the remarkable achievement of never having recorded a fatality in the jet engine era.
The rankings will prove welcome news to both Qantas and passengers, continuing a good few months for Aussie flyers following Virgin Australia’s recent announcement to ditch pre-selected travel insurance.
Virgin, which also made the top 20 list, will join Qantas in removing its opt-out travel insurance policy after facing widespread criticism for inadvertently leading customers into buying undesired, and often more expensive, travel insurance.
Among AirlineRatings.com’s other top 20 safest carriers were a number of names familiar to Australian flyers, including Air New Zealand, British Airways and Singapore Airlines.
“Our top 20 safest airlines are always at the forefront of safety innovation, operational excellence and the launching of more advanced aircraft like the A350, 787 and 777X," said Thomas.
“While these airlines are always leaders in safety there was no question that Qantas still remains the leader in safety enhancements and operational excellence.”
The website also released a top ten list of the world’s safest low-cost airlines which included budget Australian carrier Jetstar and Jetstar Asia - both subsidiaries of Qantas.
148 of the 425 airlines surveyed were awarded the highest seven star rating while 14, including airlines from Afghanistan, Indonesia, Suriname and Nepal, received just one star.
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