The World's Safest Airlines In 2023 Were Ranked & These Low-Cost Carriers Received Top Marks
If air travel makes you nervous, you can rest easy by booking your next vacation with one of the world's safest airlines for 2023 — and there's even a low-cost list for those looking to fly on a budget.
AirlineRatings, a website that focuses on safety, product and COVID-19 ratings, just released its annual ranking of the safest airlines in the world, and there are some great options available no matter where you're going in the world this year.
The website ranked Australia-based Qantas as the world's safest airline for 2023, bumping it up over last year's winner, Air New Zealand, by a only slight margin.
AirlineRatings says it ranks the list based on many factors, including serious incidents, fatal accidents, audits from aviation's governing and industry bodies, profitability and fleet age.
Editors noted that Qantas "has amassed an amazing record of firsts in operations and safety" over its 100-year history, and "is now accepted as the industry’s most experienced airline."
The website highlighted that Qantas "was the lead airline with real-time monitoring of its engines using satellite communications." This means the airline was able to notice and handle problems before they became major safety hazards.
Other airlines making the top 20 list included Air New Zealand, Qatar Airways, Lufthansa and American Airlines.
The editor-in-chief of AirlineRatings, Geoffrey Thomas, says all the airlines on the list are standouts in the industry and are "at the forefront of safety, innovation, and launching of new aircraft.”
“In fact, the margins between these top twenty airlines are very small, they are all outstanding airlines,” he said.
Here is the full list of the top 20 safest airlines of 2023:
- Qantas
- Air New Zealand
- Etihad Airways
- Qatar Airways
- Singapore Airlines
- TAP Air Portugal
- Emirates
- Alaska Airlines
- EVA Air
- Virgin Australia/Atlantic
- Cathay Pacific Airways
- Hawaiian Airlines
- SAS
- United Airlines
- Lufthansa/Swiss Group
- Finnair
- British Airways
- KLM
- American Airlines
- Delta Air Lines
The low-cost list is not ranked, but the airlines on the list all passed the stringent International Air Transport Association Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) and have good safety records.
These are the top 20 low-cost airlines for 2023 (they are listed in alphabetical order).
- Air Arabia
- AirAsia Group (AirAsia, AirAsia X, AirAsia Thailand, AirAsia Philippines and AirAisa India)
- Allegiant
- Air Baltic
- easyjet
- FlyDubai
- Frontier
- Jetstar Group
- Jetblue
- IndiGo
- Ryanair
- Scoot
- Southwest
- Spicejet
- Spirit
- Vueling
- Vietjet
- Volaris
- Westjet
- Wizz
Thomas also shared a bit of info about how to tell which airlines are the best.
“All airlines have incidents every day and many are aircraft manufacture issues, not airline operational problems."
He went on to say that “[i]t is the way the flight crew handles incidents that determines a good airline from an unsafe one. So just lumping all incidents together is very misleading.”
This article's cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.
The inside of the Qatar Airways Al Mourjan Business Lounge.
The wine selection at the Qatar Airways Al Mourjan Business Lounge.
The wine selection at the Qatar Airways Al Mourjan Business Lounge.
The beverage station at the Qatar Airways Al Mourjan Business Lounge.
The chef's counter at the Qatar Airways Al Mourjan Business Lounge.
The fresh sushi made for me by the chef at the Qatar Airways Al Mourjan Business Lounge.
The seasonal soup at the Qatar Airways Al Mourjan Business Lounge.
The steak and asparagus at the Qatar Airways Al Mourjan Business Lounge.
The freshly squeezed orange juice at the Qatar Airways Al Mourjan Business Lounge.
The hummus, tabouleh and falafel sandwich at the the Qatar Airways Al Mourjan Business Lounge restaurant. 
The desserts and cappuccino at the Qatar Airways Al Mourjan Business Lounge.
The snack and coffee station at the Qatar Airways Al Mourjan Business Lounge.
A secluded seating area at the Qatar Airways Al Mourjan Business Lounge.
The business class seat on Qatar Airways. 
The blanket, hot towel, menues and lemon mint beverage served to me on Qatar Airways business class. 
The warm mixed nuts and wine served to me on Qatar Airways business class. 
The bread basket, butter and balsamic red chilli oil served to me on Qatar Airways business class. 
The Arab meze starter served to me on Qatar Airways business class. 
The main dish served to me on Qatar Airways business class. 
The dessert served to me on Qatar Airways business class. 
The washroom on Qatar Airways business class. 
The Laderach chocolate given to me on Qatar Airways business class. 