AirlineRatings.com names Air Canada, WestJet among safest carriers

The AirlineRatings.com website, which specializes in airline safety assessment and consumer rating aggregator, has published its 2018 list of the 20 safest and most popular carriers. At the top of the list for the fifth consecutive year in a row is Air New Zealand.

On the Canadian side, Air Canada and WestJet's honorable mentions include Best Long-haul and Best Low-Cost.

Here is the complete list of winners:

• Safest Carrier: Qantas Airways
• Best First Class: Singapore Airlines
• Best Business Class: Virgin Australia
• Premium economy class: Air New Zealand
• Best Economy Class: Korean Air
• Best crew: Singapore Airlines
• Best catering: Qantas Airways
• Best Lounges: Qantas Airways
• Best entertainment on board: Emirates
• Best Domestic Class: Qantas Airways
• Best regional carrier: Aegean Airlines
• Carrier having improved the most: Tianjin Airlines
• Best ultra low-cost: VietJetair.com
• Best long-haul carrier: Etihad, Korean Air, Virgin Atlantic, Air Canada
• Best low-cost: WestJet, Scoot, Norwegian

To establish its ranking, AirlineRatings.com relies on extensive data from the audits of aviation governing bodies and industry associations. Thirteen other factual aspects are also taken into account, including government reports, the number of serious incidents, the presence of a Premium Economy class, environmental reports, the age of the fleet, passenger comments, profitability as well as as the flagship products of each of the carriers, for example.

The safest carriers

Qantas Airlines has suffered no major incidents, making it the safest airline carrier.

The 19 other safest carriers on the planet are Air New Zealand, Alaska Airlines, British Airways, Delta Air Lines, Etihad Airways, EVA Air, Finnair, Hawaiian Airlines, Japan Airlines, KLM, Lufthansa , Scandinavian Airline System, Singapore Airlines, Swiss, United Airlines, Virgin Atlantic and Virgin Australia.

At the low-cost level, the 10 safest would be, according to AirlineRatings.com, Aer Lingus, Flybe, HK Express, Jetblue, Jetstar Australia, Jetstar Asia, Thomas Cook, Virgin America, Vueling and Westjet. Unlike many of these carriers, those listed above have all successfully completed audits of the International Air Transport Operational Safety Association (IOSA) and all have excellent safety records.

In total, AirlineRatings.com surveys more than 425 airlines.