Flying still represents the safest means of travel. Especially for passengers on Emirates or any other of the airlines featured within AERO International’s annual list of the 100 safest airlines in the world. The list, published each year in the magazine’s February issue, is a joint collaboration with the Jet Airliner Crash Data Evaluation Center (JACDEC) in Hamburg, Germany.
Emirates, both the 2018 winner and fourth place on the previous list, reclaimed the crown this year followed by Etihad Airways, another United Arab Emirates company. Finnair, number one in 2019, descended to fourth place after Spanish airline Air Europa.
KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, the oldest airline still in service, ranked 13. Cathay Pacific, named the safest in 2016 and 2017, came in fifteenth in this edition.
About JACDEC and the List
JACDEC bases its list on the results each airline obtains in the JACDEC Security Risk Index. In 2017, the Center applied the largest adjustments to its Index in it 14 years history. Among the modifications, the list grew from 60 to 100 airlines and the calculation parameters were expanded from nine to 33 influential factors. Given that the list parameters changed so much, JACDEC chose to remove all previous listings from its website in order to avoid confusion.
In addition to these new regulations, the airline rankings this year were affected by various incidents last year related to the Boeing 737 MAX. Until then, this aircraft was popular among air transport providers because of the high number of passengers it can carry.
Are you a frequent traveler in an airline that is not among the top 15? Relax, you can fly with confidence. According to JACDEC, its ranking does not focus on the 100 safest airlines. Rather, it highlights the 100 largest airlines “measured by their revenue passenger performance in revenue passenger kilometers.” In simple terms, the airlines listed are the most effective in getting you to your destination. If that doesn’t represent safety, we don’t know what does.
The 15 Safest Airlines in the World
- Emirates (United Arab Emirates)
- Etihad Airways (United Arab Emirates)
- Air Europa (Spain)
- Finnair (Finland)
- Scoot Tigerair (Singapore)
- Norwegian Air Shuttle (Norway)
- Transavia (Netherlands)
- Jetstar Airways (Australia)
- EVA Air (Taiwan)
- Vueling Airlines (Spain)
- JetBlue (United States)
- Virgin Atlantic Airways (United Kingdom)
- KLM Royal Dutch Airlines (Netherlands)
- EasyJet (United Kingdom)
- Cathay Pacific (Hong Kong)
