By aviation writer Scott Mayman

Separated by the narrowest of margins, the annual survey has confirmed the world’s safest airline in which Air New Zealand has pipped Qantas by 1.5 points to come out on top.

The Kiwi carrier remains in talks with Canberra Airport for direct flights to and from the national capital.

The survey comes from AirlineRatings.com, which took into account a variety of factors including serious incidents, recent fatal accidents,  audits from industry and governing bodies, profitability, fleet age, pilot training and safety initiatives.

However,  things such as bird strikes, turbulence injuries, weather diversions and lightning strikes were left out as airlines don’t have control over these circumstances.

A serious incident on Tuesday night involving a JAL Airbus A-350 jet which collided with a coastguard aircraft at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport won’t be part of the equation until next year’s result.

The plane caught fire but all passengers and crew were evacuated.

Those onboard the Coastguard plane died.

Website Editor Geoffrey Thomas says the top 25 are stand-outs but Air New Zealand was voted #1 due to the airline’s focus on safety and it excelled across a broad range of determining factors.

The top 25 are:

AIR NEW ZEALAND
QANTAS
VIRGIN AUSTRALIA,
ETIHAD,
QATAR
EMIRATES
ALL NIPPON AIRWAYS
FINNAIR