Fly with Confidence: The 20 Most Safe Airlines of 2023

January 14, 2023 Madrid

The top 20 safest air lines in the world for 2023, according to experts.

AirlineRatings.com, a trusted source for carrier safety rankings and product reviews, has once again revealed its annual list of safest airlines in the world for 2023.

The organization’s yearly report highlights the standout air lines that “are at the forefront of safety, innovation, and launching of new aircraft,” according to AirlineRatings editor-in-chief Geoffrey Thomas. He also noted that the safety margins between the top 20 carriers were “very small,” and that they are “all outstanding air lines.”

This year, Australian flag carrier Qantas stole the crown from Air New Zealand after falling short in 2022. Meanwhile, the same five US carriers that made the list last year — Alaska Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines, United Airlines, American Airlines, and Delta Air Lines — maintained their spots in 2023.

Qantas has a history dating back over 100 years, with the last fatal accident occurring in 1951. Since then, the carrier has been a leading example of safety in the worldwide aviation industry, having never suffered a loss of one of its jet-powered aircraft.

To determine the cream of the crop carriers, AirlineRatings analyzes several factors, including crashes over the last five years, serious incidents over the past two years, audits from governing bodies, airline fleet age, pilot training assessments, COVID procedures, carrier profitability, and safety initiatives.

“However all air lines have incidents every day, and many are aircraft or engine manufacture issues, not airline operational problems,” Thomas said. “It is the way the flight crew handles these incidents that determines a good airline from an unsafe one.”

The organization also published the world’s 20 safest low-cost carriers, which included five US carriers — Allegiant Air, Frontier Airlines, JetBlue Airways, Southwest Air lines, and Spirit Air lines.

AirlineRatings doesn’t list the budget carriers in ranked order, but it does for the major air lines —take a closer look at the top 20 safety mainline carriers in the world for 2023.