Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific and its low-cost subsidiary HK Express rank among the world’s safest carriers, according to a report by AirlineRatings.com. The airline safety and product rating review website, which monitors 385 carriers internationally, deemed Cathay the third-safest full-service airline globally. The platform also said that HK Express has the best safety record among budget carriers.

World’s Safest Full-Service Airlines for 2025

Cathay Pacific’s No. 3 ranking makes it Asia’s safest airline for 2025. The carrier shares its position with two Middle Eastern competitors — Qatar Airways and Emirates — as they all had identical scores when it came to criteria like pilot skill, safety practices, fleet size, and number of incidents. Air New Zealand claimed the top spot, closely followed by Qantas in second place. Several other Asian airlines also appeared on the list, with Japan-based ANA, Taiwan-headquartered EVA Air, and Korean Air figuring in the Top 10, with Vietnam Airlines (No. 22) making its debut.

RANKINGFULL-SERVICE AIRLINE(S)
1Air New Zealand
2Qantas
3Cathay Pacific, Qatar Airways, Emirates
4Virgin Australia
5Etihad Airways
6ANA
7EVA Air
8Korean Air
9Alaska Airlines
10Turkish Airlines
11TAP Portugal
12Hawaiian Airlines
13American Airlines
14SAS
15British Airways
16Iberia
17Finnair
18Lufthansa/Swiss
19JAL
20Air Canada
21Delta Airlines
22Vietnam Airlines
23United Airlines
The top 25 safest full-service airlines for 2025 (© AirlineRatings.com)

Japan Airlines took the No. 19 spot despite one of its planes colliding with another aircraft at Haneda Airport in January 2024 because the flight’s skilled crew stuck to safety protocol. However, Singapore Airlines narrowly missed out on making the cut despite their seven-star safety rating, likely because of the accident caused by turbulence in May 2024 that resulted in the death of one passenger and injuries of 104 others.

World’s Safest Budget Airlines for 2025

HK Express unseated last year’s safest low-cost carrier Jetstar from the top spot thanks to its relatively flawless safety record and lack of serious incidents. The budget operator — which recently had the distinction of being recognised as the world’s-fastest growing airline in 2024 —  also beat regional competitors like AirAsia (No. 6), VietJet (No. 8), Cebu Pacific (No. 22) and new entrant ZipAir (No. 23).

RANKINGLOW-COST AIRLINE
1HK Express
2Jetstar
3Ryanair
4easyJet
5Frontier Airlines
6AirAsia
7Wizz Air
8VietJet Air
9Southwest Airlines
10Volaris
11flydubai
12Norwegian
13Vueling
14Jet2
15Sun Country Airlines
16WestJet
17JetBlue Airways
18Air Arabia
19IndiGo
20Eurowings
21Allegiant Air
22Cebu Pacific
23ZipAir
24SKY Airline
25Air Baltic
The top 25 safest low-cost airlines for 2025 (© AirlineRatings.com)

AirlineRatings.com considers factors like whether a carrier has had accidents or serious incidents in the preceding two years, the age and size of an airline’s fleet, and how skilled and well-trained pilots are. Airlines must also have an IOSA certification for operational safety auditing and an ICAO country audit pass to be in the running for this list.

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Image credits: Cathay Pacific

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From the Middle East to the Far East and a couple of places in between, Anjali has lived in no fewer than seven cities in Asia, and has travelled extensively in the region. She worked as a lifestyle journalist in India before coming to Hong Kong, where her favourite thing to do is island-hopping with her daughter. You can check out her musings on motherhood, courtesy her Instagram profile.