• Aer Lingus. The airline is the flag carrier of Ireland. Cathal McNaughton / Reuters
    Aer Lingus. The airline is the flag carrier of Ireland. Cathal McNaughton / Reuters
  • Jetstar Australia. David Gray / Reuters
    Jetstar Australia. David Gray / Reuters
  • A WestJet Airlines Boeing 737-700 taxis past low-lying fog at Vancouver International Airport. The airline is based in Canada. Darryl Dyck / AP
    A WestJet Airlines Boeing 737-700 taxis past low-lying fog at Vancouver International Airport. The airline is based in Canada. Darryl Dyck / AP
  • A Vueling aircraft takes off at Barcelona airport. The airline is based in Barcelona. Josep lago / AFP
    A Vueling aircraft takes off at Barcelona airport. The airline is based in Barcelona. Josep lago / AFP
  • Virgin America. LM Otero / AP
    Virgin America. LM Otero / AP
  • Thomas Cook. It is a British company. Alexander Hassenstein / Getty Images
    Thomas Cook. It is a British company. Alexander Hassenstein / Getty Images
  • JetBlue. The airline is based in the US. James Darcy / Airbus
    JetBlue. The airline is based in the US. James Darcy / Airbus
  • Frontier. The airline is based in the US. Rick Wilking / Reuters
    Frontier. The airline is based in the US. Rick Wilking / Reuters
  • Flybe. The airline is based in the UK. HK Express of Hong Kong also made the top 10 list. Paul McErlane / EPA
    Flybe. The airline is based in the UK. HK Express of Hong Kong also made the top 10 list. Paul McErlane / EPA

World's safest low-cost airlines 2018 revealed


Ian Oxborrow
  • English
  • Arabic

Do you want to travel low-cost due to budget constraints, but are concerned about potential safety issues with airlines charging less for a ticket?

A new rankings list could put your mind at rest, as AirlineRatings.com, which rated the safety and in-flight product of 409 airlines, has revealed its top 10 safest low-cost airlines for the first time in its annual report.

In alphabetical order, these are: Aer Lingus, Flybe, Frontier, HK Express, Jetblue, Jetstar Australia, Thomas Cook, Virgin America, Vueling, and Westjet.

The editorial team said each of the low-cost carriers that made the top 10 have excellent safety records and "unlike a number of low-cost carriers, these airlines have all passed the stringent International Air Transport Association Operational Safety Audit (IOSA)".

It added: "To arrive at its Top 20 AirlineRatings.com takes into account the most important factors for safety that include; audits from aviation’s governing bodies and lead associations; government audits; airline’s crash and serious incident record and the fleet age."

The website also revealed its top 20 safest airlines overall, including the likes of Etihad and Emirates.

See which other carriers made the cut in the slideshow below.

  • Cathay Pacific. Vivek Prakash / Bloomberg
    Cathay Pacific. Vivek Prakash / Bloomberg
  • Virgin Australia. Dan Peled / EPA
    Virgin Australia. Dan Peled / EPA
  • Virgin Atlantic. Chris Ratcliffe / Bloomberg
    Virgin Atlantic. Chris Ratcliffe / Bloomberg
  • Swiss International Air Lines. Steffen Schmidt / EPA
    Swiss International Air Lines. Steffen Schmidt / EPA
  • Singapore Airlines. Regis Duvignau / Reuters
    Singapore Airlines. Regis Duvignau / Reuters
  • Scandinavian Airlines. Johan Nilsson / EPA
    Scandinavian Airlines. Johan Nilsson / EPA
  • Royal Jordanian. Alexander Klein / AFP
    Royal Jordanian. Alexander Klein / AFP
  • Qantas. Peter Parks / AFP
    Qantas. Peter Parks / AFP
  • Lufthansa. Kai Pfaffenbach / Reuters
    Lufthansa. Kai Pfaffenbach / Reuters
  • KLM. Robin Van Lonkhuijsen / EPA - EFE
    KLM. Robin Van Lonkhuijsen / EPA - EFE
  • Japan Airlines. Yoshikazu Tsuno / AFP
    Japan Airlines. Yoshikazu Tsuno / AFP
  • Hawaiian Airlines. Ted S Warren / AP Photo
    Hawaiian Airlines. Ted S Warren / AP Photo
  • A Finnair jetliner lands at the Helsinki-Vantaa International Airport in Helsinki. Jussi Nukari / AFP
    A Finnair jetliner lands at the Helsinki-Vantaa International Airport in Helsinki. Jussi Nukari / AFP
  • EVA Air. David Chang / EPA
    EVA Air. David Chang / EPA
  • Etihad Airways. Vasily Fedosenko / Reuters
    Etihad Airways. Vasily Fedosenko / Reuters
  • Emirates. Courtesy Emirates
    Emirates. Courtesy Emirates
  • British Airways. Daniel Leal-Olivas / AFP
    British Airways. Daniel Leal-Olivas / AFP
  • All Nippon Airways. Toshifumi Kitamura / AFP
    All Nippon Airways. Toshifumi Kitamura / AFP
  • Alaska Airlines. Elaine Thompson / AP Photo
    Alaska Airlines. Elaine Thompson / AP Photo
  • Air New Zealand. Marty Melville / AFP
    Air New Zealand. Marty Melville / AFP

There were no commercial passenger jet fatalities in 2017, according to Dutch aviation consulting firm To70 and the Aviation Safety Network.

There were, however, 44 fatalities onboard and 35 on the ground, including cargo planes and commercial passenger turboprop aircraft.

Seven airlines were given the lowest one-star rating for safety by AirlineRatings.com.

These can be see below:

  • Air Koryo of North Korea. EPA
    Air Koryo of North Korea. EPA
  • A Tara Air aircraft on the runway at Tenzing Hillary Airport, Lukla, Nepal. Loop Images / UIG via Getty Images
    A Tara Air aircraft on the runway at Tenzing Hillary Airport, Lukla, Nepal. Loop Images / UIG via Getty Images
  • A Buddha Air Beechcraft 1900D aircraft taxis on the tarmac after landing at the international airport in Paro, Bhutan. Ed Jones / AFP
    A Buddha Air Beechcraft 1900D aircraft taxis on the tarmac after landing at the international airport in Paro, Bhutan. Ed Jones / AFP
  • A Nepal Airlines Airbus 320 parked inside Tribhuwan International airport in Kathmandu, Nepal. Niranjan Shrestha / AP Photo
    A Nepal Airlines Airbus 320 parked inside Tribhuwan International airport in Kathmandu, Nepal. Niranjan Shrestha / AP Photo
  • Trigana Air Service's ATR42-300 twin turboprop plane takes off at Supadio airport in Pontianak, West Kalimantan, Indonesia. AP Photo
    Trigana Air Service's ATR42-300 twin turboprop plane takes off at Supadio airport in Pontianak, West Kalimantan, Indonesia. AP Photo
  • Tourists disembark a Yeti Airlines aircraft after its arrival in Nepal. Joern Bender /picture-alliance / dpa / AP Images
    Tourists disembark a Yeti Airlines aircraft after its arrival in Nepal. Joern Bender /picture-alliance / dpa / AP Images

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Read more:

World's safest airlines 2018 revealed

World's least safe airlines 2018 revealed

British Airways upsets customers with new boarding policy

Aviation year in review: For regional airlines, 2017 proved a mixed lot