AirlineRatings named the safest airline in 2023

AirlineRatings, a safety and product quality rating website, analyzed the airline's performance last year to determine their safety level. The study found that Air New Zealand became the safest carrier in the world in 2023.

The second place went to Australian airline Qantas, which was only 1.5 points ahead of the winner, Simple Flying writes. Geoffrey Thomas, editor-in-chief of AirlineRatings, called the difference between the results of the two companies "incredibly close."

As noted, Air New Zealand's success is also impressive because the company has to operate in bad weather conditions.

The pilots of the New Zealand carrier are improving their skills every time, successfully taking off and landing aircraft at Wellington (WLG) and Queenstown (ZQN) international airports.

The rankings were based on serious incidents, fatalities, inspections by aviation regulatory and industry bodies, profitability, industry-leading safety initiatives, peer review of pilot training, and fleet age.

The researchers left out bird collisions, lightning strikes, turbulence, and similar natural phenomena over which carriers have no control.

In addition to the two companies mentioned above, Virgin Australia, Etihad Airways, Qatar Airways, Emirates, All Nippon Airways, Finnair, Cathay Pacific Airways, Alaska Airlines, SAS, Korean Air, Singapore Airlines, EVA Air, British Airways, Turkish Airlines, TAP Air Portugal, Lufthansa Group, KLM, Japan Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines, American Airlines, Air France, Air Canada Group, and United Airlines were praised for their high level of safety.