The Major US Airline That Ranks Number One For Safety

The safest airline in the United States may not be the first carrier that comes to mind. In fact, the carrier that beat out its competition to earn the highest rating for a U.S.-based carrier on the AirlineRatings.com annual list of the safest airlines in the world didn't even introduce transcontinental routes until 2007. Be that as it may, Alaska Airlines bested legacy carriers, including American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and United Airlines, in the yearly survey that ranks carriers worldwide based on a comprehensive list of judging criteria including account fleet age, fleet size, fatalities, pilot skill and training, and serious safety incidents. At No. 9, Alaska Airlines was the only U.S. carrier to break into the top 10 in the safest airline category. Its partner airline, Hawaiian Airlines — Alaska Airlines acquired Hawaiian Airlines in 2024 — ranked No. 12 on the list of 25 carriers worldwide.

"The recognition of Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines being the top two safest airlines in the U.S. is a testament to our airlines' safety cultures," an Alaska Airlines spokesperson told Newsweek. "Our combined organization holds safety above all else — with each one of our 30,000 employees personally committed to the safety of our guests and one another." This year's safety ranking is especially poignant in light of a recent uptick in serious incidents related to airline safety including the January 29 collision between an American Airlines jet and a U.S. Army helicopter in Washington, D.C. (DCA) and the February 17 crash of a Delta Air Lines regional jet at Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ). Analysis of safety incidents includes identifying the responsible party. If it's an equipment failure that can be traced to the manufacturer rather than, say, pilot error, the airline won't be docked in the ratings tally. This particular consideration played a significant role in this year's rankings.

In 2024 an Alaska Airlines flight experienced a serious safety incident when a door plug detached mid-flight causing the rapid depressurization of the passenger cabin. Flight 1282 was en route from Portland (PDX) to Ontario, California (ONT) when the door plug — a panel built into the fuselage of an aircraft as a placeholder that could be converted to an emergency exit — blew out shortly after take-off. Although it was an extreme situation, the plane landed safely and no one was injured and subsequent investigations revealed there were no bolts installed to hold the panel in place on the Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft and attributed the incident to Boeing-related manufacturing defects and quality-control lapses. If investigations had determined the airline was at fault, Alaska Airlines would not have achieved its top 10 status. Although incidents like this are rare, a self-identified airline pilot took to social media after the event to share tips for surviving the almost instantaneous cabin depressurization that occurs when an aircraft hull is breached.

Three other U.S. airlines placed in this year's top 25, but they all ended up near the bottom of the list. American Airlines came in at 13, Delta Air Lines finished at 21, and United Airlines pulled up the rear at 23. Other carriers in the top 10 along with Alaska Airlines include Air New Zealand at No. 1 followed by Qantas, Cathay Pacific, Qatar Airways, and Emirates tied for third place, followed in order of ranking by Virgin Australia, Etihad Airways, ANA, EVA Air, Korean Air, Alaska Airlines, and Turkish Airlines. In a sub-category for low-cost carriers, five U.S. airlines placed among the top 25 safest in the 2025 AirlineRatings.com survey — Frontier Airlines (5), Southwest Airlines (9), Sun Country Airlines (15), JetBlue (17), and Allegiant Air (21).