Tue Jan 21 18:36:53 IST 2025: ## Air New Zealand Named World’s Safest Airline for 2025
**Sydney, Australia** – AirlineRatings.com has released its annual ranking of the world’s safest airlines, with Air New Zealand taking the top spot for 2025. The closely contested ranking, based on a rigorous audit of 385 airlines, saw Air New Zealand narrowly edge out Qantas, which came in second place. Cathay Pacific, Qatar Airways, and Emirates shared third place in the full-service category.
The rankings consider numerous factors, including serious incidents over the past two years, fleet age and size, incident rates, fatalities, profitability, IOSA certification, ICAO audit results, and pilot training. AirlineRatings.com CEO Sharon Petersen highlighted the intense competition between Air New Zealand and Qantas, noting a mere 1.50-point difference in their scores. Air New Zealand’s younger fleet ultimately gave it the edge. The three-way tie for third place, Petersen explained, was due to the identical scores of Cathay Pacific, Qatar Airways, and Emirates across key safety metrics.
The top 25 safest full-service airlines for 2025, according to AirlineRatings.com, are: Air New Zealand, Qantas, Cathay Pacific/Qatar Airways/Emirates, Virgin Australia, Etihad Airways, ANA, EVA Air, Korean Air, Alaska Airlines, Turkish Airlines, TAP Portugal, Hawaiian Airlines, American Airlines, SAS, British Airways, Iberia, Finnair, Lufthansa/Swiss, JAL, Air Canada, Delta Airlines, Vietnam Airlines, and United Airlines.
Separately, AirlineRatings.com also published its list of the top 25 safest low-cost airlines, with Hong Kong Express leading the pack. This list includes airlines such as Jetstar Group, Ryanair, easyJet, and Southwest Airlines. The full list of low-cost airlines is available on the AirlineRatings.com website.
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