By Benet Wilson
Air Travel Expert, about.com
[post_ads_2]No matter how much you travel, you always wonder just how safe the airline you're flying is. Commercial aviation has been shown statistically to be the safest mode of travel, but some airlines are more safe than others, according to a new study.
Australian flag carrier Qantas was at the top of a list of the top 20 safest airlines in 2016 as compiled by AirlineRatings.com. The carrier was lauded for its fatality-free record in the jet era, calling it extraordinary.
[post_ads]AirlineRatings.com,
the world’s only safety and product rating website, uses a rating
system uses a range of factors related to audits from aviation’s
governing bodies and lead associations, as well as government audits and
the airline’s fatality record. The site’s editorial team also examined
each airline’s operational history, incident records and operational
excellence to complete the list.
The selection team noted that
over Qantas’s 95-year history, the world’s oldest continuously operating
airline has amassed an extraordinary record of firsts in operations and
safety and is now accepted as the industry’s most experienced carrier.
[post_ads_2]
They include: using a Flight Data Recorder to
monitor aircraft and crew performance; systems that handle automatic
landings; and using technology to fly around mountains in clouds. The
airline was also a leader in real-time monitoring of its engines across
its fleet using satellite communications, which allows it to detect
problems before becoming a major safety issue.
AirlineRatings.com used a seven-star safety assessment criteria for all airlines:
- Is the airline IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) or IATA Standard Safety Assessment (ISSA) certified? If yes, an airline is awarded two stars;
- Is the airline on the European Union Blacklist, banned from flying in the region’s airspace? If no, a star is awarded;
- Has the airline maintained a fatality free record for the past 10 years? If yes the airline is awarded a star;
- Is the airline FAA endorsed? If yes a full star is awarded;
- Does the country of airline origin meet all eight ICAO safety parameters? If yes, two stars are awarded. If five to seven of the criteria are met, one star is awarded;
- Has the airline's fleet been grounded by the country's governing aviation safety authority due to safety concerns? If yes an additional star will be taken off the total for five years from the time of grounding
- Does the airline operate only Russian built aircraft? If yes an additional star will be taken off the total.
The rest of the top 20 airlines as rated by AirlineRatings.com, in alphabetical order, are:[post_ads_2]
- Air New Zealand
- Alaska Airlines
- All Nippon Airlines
- American Airlines
- Cathay Pacific Airways
- Emirates
- Etihad Airways
- EVA Air
- Finnair
- Hawaiian Airlines
- Japan Airlines
- KLM
- Lufthansa
- Scandinavian Airline System
- Singapore Airlines
- Swiss
- United Airlines
- Virgin Atlantic
- Virgin Australia
Of
the 407 airlines surveyed, 148 have the top seven-star safety ranking,
but almost 50 have just three stars or less. There are 10 airlines with
only one star and these airlines are from Indonesia, Nepal and Surinam.
The editors at AirlineRatings.com top also identified their top
10 safest low-cost airlines: Aer Lingus, Flybe, HK Express, Jetblue,
Jetstar Australia, Thomas Cook, TUI Fly, Virgin America, Volaris and
Westjet. These carriers have all passed the stringent IOSA audit and
have excellent safety records.
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