Qantas ratings vary, but it's often recognized for top-tier safety, being named the world's safest in 2025 by 42kft.com and earning a 4-Star rating from Skytrax for product and service, yet customer reviews on sites like ProductReview.com.au and TripAdvisor show mixed experiences, highlighting inconsistent service, dated planes, and varying food quality alongside positive flight experiences.
Qantas rebounds from worst-ever performance to be named world's 14th best airline in ranking.
Like Singapore Airlines, it carried 18 million passengers across 88 locations while maintaining its five-star Skytrax score. Australia's very own Qantas finished in third place with a commendable customer satisfaction score of 94.
The world's Top 10 Airlines of 2025 voted for by travellers around the world.
For 2025, AirlineRatings.com ranks Air New Zealand and Qantas as the top two safest airlines globally, followed by Cathay Pacific, Qatar Airways, Emirates, Virgin Australia, Etihad, ANA, EVA Air, and Korean Air, with Alaska Airlines being the top U.S. carrier. These rankings consider factors like fleet age, safety audits, and operational excellence, with Air New Zealand often praised for its modern fleet and challenging operating environments.
Top 10 Most Dangerous Airlines
Scroll down for a full list of carriers never to have had a fatal accident.
Which airlines are designated as 5-star?
The Safest LCC In The World
HK Express is the only LCC based in Hong Kong, and a subsidiary of Cathay Pacific. It was selected as the safest LCC in the world for 2025 by Airline Ratings criteria. It received a 7-Star PLUS safety rating that year, making it the first low-cost carrier to do so globally.
QANTAS VOTED AUSTRALIA'S FAVOURITE AIRLINE.
Qantas' Business Class cabin is one of the leading offerings in the sky, thanks to restaurant-quality meals, fantastic wines, flatbed seats and terrific entertainment and when it comes to that experience onboard the A380 superjumbo complete with an onboard lounge, it's like having a luxury hotel experience in the sky, ...
The Qantas 72-hour rule isn't one single policy but a general guideline for actions like finalizing bookings, payments, or special requests (medical, unaccompanied minors) needed at least 72 hours before departure for processing, while also defining airline responsibilities for disruptions (like cancellations or significant delays) occurring within 72 hours, meaning Qantas offers rebooking on the next available flight without charge if an involuntary change happens close to departure. Passengers should confirm details within this window for smooth operations, but the rule mainly dictates Qantas's handling of involuntary disruptions, not voluntary changes, which follow fare rules.
Qantas has topped the world's safest airlines ranking for 2025 according to 42kft.com, a safety, environment, and product-focused airline ranking platform. Out of 142 carriers analysed – covering 85 per cent of global air traffic – Qantas Airways was crowned the world's safest airline.
Qantas is often seen as premium, with extensive networks and better lounges, good for international/premium travel, though pricier; Virgin Australia offers competitive domestic fares, better cancellation rates, and a strong value proposition for many flyers, especially small businesses, balancing cost and service well. Your choice depends on priorities: Qantas for luxury/global reach, Virgin for value/domestic efficiency, but experiences vary, with some preferring Virgin for reliability over Qantas' past issues, while Qantas offers better long-haul Business Class.
6 ASEAN Airlines Ranked as the World's Best Airlines in 2026 The 10 Best Airlines in the World in 2025, as Voted by Passengers Worldwide, are: 1. Qatar Airways 2. Singapore Airlines 3. Cathay Pacific 4.
Air New Zealand has been named the world's safest airline for 2025, narrowly beating Qantas by just 1.5 points, according to AirlineRatings.com's annual review of 385 carriers.
In the early 1990s, Qantas was one of eight major airlines working with Boeing on the design of the Boeing 777. Despite being part of the design group, Qantas never acquired any 777s. Several aviation commentators have criticised this decision, as the 777 appeared to be a good fit for Qantas' requirements.
Air Koryo, North Korea's state carrier, is widely known as a 1-star airline on Skytrax. It still flies limited routes and keeps a mix of domestic and international services under tight conditions. Many aviation fans would love to try a flight, but booking a trip to North Korea is hard, so most will only read about it.
Emirates is not considered a 5-star airline due to criticisms of inconsistent service quality, seat comfort, food and beverage quality, entertainment issues, and overall consistency across all classes.
According to the AirAdvisor Airline Safety Score, Allegiant, American, Frontier, Hawaiian, JetBlue, Southwest, and Spirit Airlines are all the safest. Each had a perfect accident record in 2023 and 2024 with no reported incidents based on data from IATA.
The "Big Four" airlines in the U.S. are American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, and Southwest Airlines, dominating the domestic market with vast networks, large fleets, and significant market share, often called legacy carriers, though Southwest is a major low-cost operator. Globally, rankings vary by metric (fleet size, passengers, revenue), but these U.S. carriers consistently rank among the world's largest, alongside groups like Lufthansa, Air France-KLM, and Chinese airlines.
Seats are laid out with economy at the rear, business class in the middle, and first class toward the front of the plane. While crashes are incredibly rare, in general, sitting toward the aisle at the back of the plane near an emergency exit is the safest choice.
The deliberate crashes of the aforementioned American Airlines Flight 11, as well as United Airlines Flight 175 at the World Trade Center, and the subsequent collapse of both towers on 11 September 2001 caused 2,606 ground fatalities in addition to the deaths of the 157 people on board both flights, making it the ...
She argues that landings are riskier than takeoffs due to fewer escape options. “It's a really critical moment, especially for midair collisions and other incidents,” Schiavo emphasized. “When you're taking off, you have the runway in front of you.