While airline traffic has rebounded some, although in most parts of the world not to anywhere near 2019 levels, airline ratings on various criteria have continued on, and one well-regarded one is showing some significant shifts.
AirlineRatings.com’s top choice for this year is Air New Zealand, which displaced Qantas, a several-year winner, at the top, followed by Etihad Airways, Qatar, Singapore and TAP Portugal.
The annual list of the safest airlines from among the 385 the site monitors looks different at the top in part because of new weight being given to airline Covid-19 protocols, along with the usual factors including age of aircraft, serious incidents and crashes.
Qantas, which fell to number 7 maay have lost its top spot over an October flight that was diverted because of a fuel imbalance, considered a ‘serious incident.’
Geoffrey Thomas, editor of the site, told press that “Air New Zealand is a leader in this field with comprehensive retraining… The last two years have been extremely difficult for airlines with Covid-19 slashing travel and Airline Ratings editors have particularly focused on the lengths airlines are undertaking to retrain pilots ahead of a return to service.”
The list for this year:
- Air New Zealand
- Etihad Airways
- Qatar Airways
- Singapore Airlines
- TAP Air Portugal
- SAS
- Qantas
- Alaska Airlines
- EVA Air
- Virgin Australia/Virgin Atlantic
- Cathay Pacific Airways
- Hawaiian Airlines
- American Airlines
- Lufthansa
- Finnair
- KLM
- British Airways
- Delta Air Lines
- United Airlines
- Emirates
