Qantas Has Been Named the World's Safest Airline for 2019
Virgin Australia and Air New Zealand also made the top 20.
It's been a busy 12 months or so for Qantas. The Australian airline launched 17-hour non-stop flights from Perth to London, started eyeing off even lengthier trips direct from the east coast to the UK and US, and introduced biofuel into its jaunts from Melbourne to Los Angeles. Now the carrier is kicking off the new year by earning a highly sought-after accolade, being named the safest airline to travel on in 2019.
It's not the first time that Qantas has achieved the feat. In fact, the Aussie carrier has topped AirlineRatings.com's list for six years in a row. Entering its 99th year of operation, the airline emerged victorious from a pool of 405 carriers from around the world, with Virgin Australia and Air New Zealand also making the site's top 20.
The other 17 airlines — which aren't ranked by number — span Alaska Airlines, All Nippon Airways, American Airlines, Austrian Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific Airways, Emirates, EVA Air, Finnair, Hawaiian Airlines, KLM, Lufthansa, Qatar, Scandinavian Airline System, Singapore Airlines, Swiss, United Airlines and Virgin Atlantic.
If you're a budget-conscious flyer, the website also outlined the ten safest low-cost airlines. Jetstar is one of them — and it's joined by Flybe, Frontier, HK Express, Jetblue, Cook, Volaris, Vueling, Westjet and Wizz.
Factors that influence a carrier's placement on the two lists include crash and incident records, safety initiatives, fleet age, profitability, and audits by aviation governing bodies, industry bodies and governments.
At the other end of the scale, five airlines received the lowest rankings: Ariana Afghan Airlines, Bluewing Airlines, Kam Air and Trigana Air Service.
Via AirlineRatings.com.
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