An annual list of the world's safest airlines has been released for 2025 and only one of the top 10 is American-based—Alaska Airlines.
Newsweek has contacted Alaska Airlines for comment via email.
The rankings, which AirlineRatings.com revealed last week, come after last year saw a number of safety concerns in regard to U.S. airlines, with United Airlines placed under enhanced oversight by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
Incidents for United included one where an external panel was found to be missing from an aircraft when it landed in Oregon, a United-operated Boeing 737 MAX rolling into the grass in Houston and a United Airlines Boeing 777-200 lost a tire after taking off from San Francisco International Airport.
While United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby said none of the incidents were related, they were part of several that led to the FAA opening a review of the Chicago-based carrier's compliance with safety regulations in March.
United later announced it had delayed the start of two international routes because of the FAA pausing some certifications.
However, in October, the FAA concluded that "the review did not identify any significant safety issues."
Alaska Airlines is the only United States-based carrier that was in AirlineRatings' top 10—although Hawaiian, American, Delta and United were in the top 25.
The list is determined by looking at a combination of multiple factors, including serious incidents, incident management, fleet age, fleet size, rate of incidents, fatalities, financial stability, pilot skill and training.
Alaska Airlines' ranking comes despite having its own safety incident at the beginning of last year, when a door of a Boeing 737 MAX 9, destined for Ontario, California, suddenly blew off, after it had left Portland International Airport in Oregon.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) released an investigative report in November, which focused on the safety culture at Boeing and how Alaska Airlines dealt with its warning system.
Meanwhile, Air New Zealand was named the safest airline in the world, followed by Qantas, with Cathay Pacific, Qatar Airways and Emirates tying for third place.
The top 25 safest airlines are:
- Air New Zealand
- Qantas
- Cathay Pacific; Qatar Airways; Emirates
- Virgin Australia
- Etihad Airways
- ANA
- EVA Air
- Korean Air
- Alaska Airlines
- Turkish Airlines (THY)
- TAP Portugal
- Hawaiian Airlines
- American Airlines
- SAS
- British Airways
- Iberia
- Finnair
- Lufthansa/Swiss
- JAL
- Air Canada
- Delta Airlines
- Vietnam Airlines
- United Airlines
What Are People Saying
AirlineRatings.com CEO Sharon Petersen said in a statement: "It was extremely close again between Air New Zealand and Qantas for first place with only 1.50 points separating the two airlines. Whilst both airlines uphold the highest safety standards and pilot training, Air New Zealand continues to have a younger fleet than Qantas which separates the two."
She continued: "The three-way tie for third place was because we simply could not separate these airlines. From fleet age to pilot skill, safety practices, fleet size, and number of incidents, their scores were identical."
