AirlineRatings.com on Tuesday published its list of the safest airlines in the world for 2015, putting Qantas, the flag carrier of Australia, at the top of the list.
The remainder of the top ten was only listed in alphabetical order and, in addition to Finnair, consisted of Air New Zealand, British Airways, Cathay Pacific Airways, Emirates, Etihad Airways, EVA Air, Lufthansa and Singapore Airlines.
The airlines in the top ten “are always at the forefront of safety innovation and launching new planes,” according to the website.
AirlineRatings.com on Tuesday also unveiled its first ever list of the ten safest low-cost carriers: Aer Lingus, Alaska Airlines, Icelandair, Jetblue, Jetstar, Kulula.com, Monarch Airlines, Thomas Cook, TUI Fly and Westjet.
Both lists are based on rigorous safety audits carried out by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and the International Civil Aviation Organisation as well as a blacklist of airlines compiled by the European Union, accident statistics and statements by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
The review team of AirlineRatings.com consists of aviation journalists who examined the recent annual reports, accident reports and operational history of virtually every airline in the world. Of the total of 449 airlines reviewed, 149 received the maximum of seven stars for safety while nearly 50 received no more than three stars.
Earlier, Finnair has been listed as one of the three safest airlines in the world by Germany's Jet Airliner Crash Data Evaluation Centre (JACDEC).
Last year, JACDEC named the state-owned airline the third safest airline in the world behind Air New Zealand and Cathay Pacific. In 2013, Finnair was ranked the safest and in 2012 the second safest airline in the world by JACDEC.
Pekka Torvinen – HS
Aleksi Teivainen – HT
© HELSINGIN SANOMAT
Photo: Mikko Stig / Lehtikuva
