Finnair has emerged as the safest airline in the world with Air New Zealand in second place, but Qantas failed to even make the top 10, according to a new report.
The Jet Airline Crash Data Evaluation Centre (JACDEC) Safety Ranking Report 2012 gave Finland’s flag carrier the highest safety index, based on annual safety calculations. It covers all hull loss accidents and serious incidents in the last 30 years in relation to revenue passsenger kilometers (RPK) flown over that period.
Air New Zealand had the second highest score, with Cathay Pacific third.
Air NZ chief flight operations and safety officer, David Morgan, said the airline’s strong result is testament to its commitment to maintaining a strong safety culture.
“Safety is paramount and non-negotiable at Air New Zealand,” he said. “We have worked hard as an airline to create a safety culture which has been embraced by more than 10,000 employees and it’s very pleasing to have been recognised by an external agency.”
Virgin Australia made it into ninth place, just ahead of British Airways, while Qantas, once considered the world’s safest airline, failed to make the top 10. The Flying Kangaroo came in at 13.
Middle Eastern carriers Emirates and Etihad came fourth and fifth respectively, followed by Taiwan's EVA Air, TAP Portugal then Chinese carrier Hainan Airlines.
The report recorded 496 fatalities in 2012, compared with 498 in 2011, and 44 hull losses, one less than the previous year.
