Safety survey sorts out cheap airlines
The top 10 safest low-cost airlines have been rated for the first time in an annual industry survey.
Airlineratings.com technical and safety editor, US-based Jerry Chandler, said being low cost "doesn't mean low safety".
"Unlike a number of low-cost carriers, these airlines have all passed the stringent International Air Transport Association Operational Safety Audit and have excellent safety records," Chandler said.
European and US airlines dominate the low-cost top 10, with only Jetstar making the cut in the Asia- Pacific region.
For full-service airlines, Qantas was overall winner as the world's safest airline for the second year running.
Making up the top 10 safest full- service airlines were Air New Zealand, Cathay Pacific Airways, British Airways, Emirates, Etihad Airways, EVA Air, Finnair, Lufthansa and Singapore Airlines.
"These airlines are a byword for operational excellence and lead the world in safety standards and innovation," Chandler said.
In choosing Qantas as the overall winner, Chandler said: "Over its 94-year history Qantas has amassed an extraordinary record of firsts in safety and operations and is now accepted as the world's most experienced airline.
"In 2008, in its successful defence to the British Advertising Standards Association of its claim that it is the world's most experienced airline, Qantas was able to list almost 30 notable industry-leading achievements."
Qantas has been a leader in developing the future air navigation system, the flight data recorder to monitor plane and later crew performance, automatic landings using global navigation satellites and systems for precision approaches around mountains in cloud.
Qantas was the lead airline for real time monitoring of engines using satellites so it could detect problems before any major safety issue.
To complete the selection of the top 10, the website's global editorial team examined an airline's safety audit results, operational history and incident records.
Of the 449 airlines surveyed on the website, 149 have the top seven-star safety ranking but almost 50 have just three stars or fewer. Five achieved only one star for safety - Agni Air, Kam Air, Nepal Airlines, Scat and Tara Air.
AirlineRatings.com is a joint initiative between _The West Australian _and Aerospace Technical Publications International.
Geoffrey Thomas is an editor at Airlineratings.com
