These are the 10 safest airlines in the world (photos)

Criteria include fatality record in past 10 years among other factors

Air travel is one of the safest forms of transportation around. And things are only getting better.
That said, some airlines are still better at it than others. That is why AirlineRatings.com releases an annual list of the 20 safest carriers in the world.
“With travel today taking passengers to every corner of the globe, with hundreds of airlines to choose from and a wide variety of standards from one airline to another, it is essential that passengers get the right information about the safety ratings as well as product,” AirlineRatings.com Editor-in-Chief Geoffrey Thomas said in a statement.
The publication’s safety-rating system was developed with the help of the United Nations’ International Civil Aviation Organization.
The 20 safest airlines are selected from a pool of 409 carriers. To compile its list, the website’s team of editors evaluated each airline based on its standing with international regulators, its fatality record over the past 10 years, the age of its fleet of planes, its result from an International Air Transport Association safety audit, and whether its country of origin conformed with the International Civil Aviation Organization’s eight-point safety parameter. All of the airlines on this list passed those tests with flying colors.
This year, the editors at AirlineRatings.com declined to select a single winner. Instead, they simply named the 20 safest airlines in the world in alphabetical order.
Here’s a look at which airlines made the list.

1. Air New Zealand has made a fine recovery after a period of financial turmoil in the early 2000s.

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2. It may be called Alaska Airlines, but it’s actually based in Seattle.

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3. Founded in 1954, All Nippon Airways is well regarded for its consistent and high-quality service

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4. British Airways formed in 1974 following the merger of British Overseas Airways Corporation and British European Airways.

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5. AirlineRatings.com recently named Cathay Pacific one of the 10 best airlines in the world.

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6. Over the past 20 years, Emirates has emerged as a major power in the world of commercial air travel.

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7. Like its neighbor, the Abu Dhabi-based Etihad has maintained an unblemished safety record.

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8. In the US, Taiwan’s Eva Air is best known for its Hello Kitty-themed planes. 

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9. Finnair, Finland’s national airline, doesn’t get as much attention in the media as some of its Scandinavian counterparts.

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10. Founded in 1929, the Honolulu-based Hawaiian Airlines has been consistently regarded as one of the best in the US.

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source: businessinsider