Qantas is considered the world’s third-safest carrier, according to AirlineRatings.com’s new ranking for 2026.
The Flying Kangaroo beat rival Virgin Australia by several places in the full-service airline category, with the latter coming in at number nine, while across the Tasman, Air New Zealand fell between the two in sixth spot.
Etihad claimed the title of the world’s safest airline, marking the first year a Gulf carrier has taken the number one spot, followed by Cathay Pacific.
AirlineRatings.com CEO Sharon Peterson said, “Etihad achieved this through a combination of factors: a young fleet, advancements in cockpit safety, particularly around turbulence, a crash-free history, and the lowest incident rate per flight of any airline on the list.”
Qatar, Emirates, Singapore Airlines, and EVA Air made up the rest of the top 10.
Meanwhile, Jetstar was named the second-safest low-cost carrier in the world, bested only by Cathay Pacific’s low-cost subsidiary, HK Express, which claimed the top accolade for a second time on account of its “modern fleet, exceptionally low incident rate, and an almost flawless onboard safety audit”.
Other honourable mentions in the category include Scoot in third place, followed by flydubai, EasyJet Group, Southwest, airBaltic, and Vietjet Air.
“Overall, it is important to note that every airline featured in the 2026 list has recorded incidents over the past two years, from tail strikes to on-board fires and engine shutdowns, yet the actual incident rate per flight sits between 0.002 and 0.09 across the airlines, which is a true credit to the industry as a whole,” Peterson added.
