20 of the world's safest airlines

In the newest edition of Airlineratings.com's annual safest airlines list, analysts identified the top 20 airlines with the best safety records, taking into consideration audits from governing aviation bodies and governments; airline crash and serious incident records; and fleet age.

Among the top performers are British Airways, Cathay Pacific Airways, Emirates, Japan Airlines, KLM, Virgin Atlantic and Qantas, which received a special nod for an exceptional performance over a 97-year history.

"Australia'shas continued its remarkable safety record of no fatalities – or hull losses – in the jet era," analysts point out.

Added Airlineratings.com editor-in-chief Geoffrey Thomas in a statement: "It is extraordinary that Qantas has been the lead airline in virtually every major operational safety advancement over the past 60 years and has not had a fatality in the jet era."

(Related: 10 innovations that differentiate sleeping aboard the best airlines)

The list follows on the heels of a pair of reports out of the Netherlands which declared 2017 to be the safest year in aviation history: According to the Aviation Safety Network, last year saw just 10 fatal accidents, which resulted in 44 deaths.

Framed another way: The chances of dying in a plane crash are now one in 16 million, added aviation consultancy group To70.

At the other end of the spectrum, the airlines with the worst safety records include Air Koryo, Bluewing Airlines, Buddha Air, Nepal Airlines, Tara Air, Trigana Air Service and Yeti Airlines.

Below, the top 20 airlines with the best safety records, listed in alphabetical order: 

Air New Zealand

Alaska Airlines

All Nippon Airways

British Airways

Cathay Pacific Airways

Emirates

Etihad Airways

EVA Air

Finnair

Hawaiian Airlines

Japan Airlines

KLM, Lufthansa

Qantas

Royal Jordanian Airlines

Scandinavian Airline System

Singapore Airlines

Swiss

Virgin Atlantic

Virgin Australia

(Related: Top airlines with top wines)

vs/cm - Relaxnews