British Airways, Air France-KLM and Lufthansa have been named as among the world’s safest airlines.
Six of the top ten in a report produced by the Geneva-based Air Transport Rating Agency are based in the US – American Airlines, Continental Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Southwest Airlines, United Airlines, and US Airways. Japan Airlines was also named in the top ten.
ATRA compared publicly available data on 100 of the world’s largest carriers in its ‘Holistic Safety Rating 2011’ report.
It took into account 15 different criteria, including the age of the each airline’s fleet, their pilot training facilities and the number of accidents they have been involved in during the last ten years.
ATRA, which operates independently of any airline, manufacturer or regulatory authority, says the study was undertaken to “provide the aviation sector with rigorous and transparent information, liable to encourage airlines to track, interpret and discuss any criteria in the organisation contributing to flight safety”.