by Donald Wood
Last updated: 10:30 AM ET, Tue January 5, 2016
For the third consecutive year, AirlineRatings.com has named Australia's Qantas as the safest airline in the world for 2016, topping a list of 20 other contenders.
In this year's official rankings, the world's only safety and product rating website announced the 2016 edition of its annual list of the top 20 safest airlines, with Qantas finishing first once again.
The website doesn't rank airlines numerically due to operational safety being so similar across the board, but AirlineRatings.com officials choose one outstanding performer each year. As for the rest of the top 20, here is the full list in alphabetical order:
Air New Zealand, Alaska Airlines, All Nippon Airways, American Airlines, Cathay Pacific Airways, Emirates, Etihad Airways, EVA Air, Finnair, Hawaiian Airlines, Japan Airlines, KLM, Lufthansa, Scandinavian Airline System, Singapore Airlines, Swiss, United Airlines, Virgin Atlantic and Virgin Australia.
In addition to the AirlineRatings.com's standard top 20 safest airlines list, editors compiled a list of the top ten safest low-cost airlines. In alphabetical order, they include Aer Lingus, Flybe, HK Express, JetBlue, Jetstar Australia, Thomas Cook, TUI Fly, Virgin America, Volaris and Westjet.
To arrive at the top 20 list of safest airports, AirlineRating.com's editorial team took into consideration audits from aviation's governing bodies, government audits, airline's crash records, operational history, incident records and operational excellence.
AirlineRatings.com editor Geoffrey Thomas released a statement about the annual list:
"Our top safest airlines are always at the forefront of safety innovation, operational excellence and the launching of new more advanced aircraft. These airlines are always at the forefront for excellence in the safety space. However there is no question amongst the editors that Qantas remains a standout in safety enhancements and best practice."
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