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Updated 9.50pm
AER LINGUS HAS been named as one of the best low-cost airlines in the world when it comes to safety.
That’s according to AirlineRatings.com, which said that Aer Lingus joined: Alaska Airlines, Icelandair, Jetblue, Jetstar, Kulula.com, Monarch Airlines, Thomas Cook, TUI Fly and Westjet in that category.
The site surveyed 449 airlines, and said that 149 of those have the top seven-star safety ranking, but almost 50 have just three stars or less.
It named Qantas as the world’s safest airline, saying:
Qantas was the lead airline with real time monitoring of its engines across its fleet using satellite communications, which has enabled the airline to detect problems before they become a major safety issue.
Aside from Qantas, the other top airlines for safety were named as: Air New Zealand, British Airways, Cathay Pacific Airways, Emirates, Etihad Airways, EVA Air, Finnair, Lufthansa and Singapore Airlines.
AirlineRatings.com uses its own rating system, which it says “takes into account a range of factors related to audits from aviation’s governing bodies such as the FAA and ICAO as well as government audits and the airline’s fatality record”. Meanwhile, its editorial team examine “each airline’s operational history, incident records and operational excellence”.
The site also described 2014 as “a bad year for airline safety, with some of the most tragic and bizarre incidents in modern history” taking place, but added “the numbers can be deceiving”.
It said that there were 21 fatal airline accidents this year, with 986 fatalities, but pointed out that 50 years ago, there 87 crashes, when airlines only carried 5% of this year’s 3.3billion passengers.
Record-breaking year
AER LINGUS HAS reported a record breaking 11 million passengers in 2014.
The figure is up over 3% on the previous year’s passenger numbers of 10.7 million.
The airline’s long haul passenger numbers rose by 20% while its short haul numbers dipped by 1%.
Aer Lingus said it flew a total of 705,000 passengers last month -that’s down 3.8% compared to the 733,000 it carried in December 2013.
The number of passengers taking short flights decreased but the number taking long haul flight rose during the month.
Short haul traffic was down 8.2% to 517,000 passengers compared to 563,000 in December of last year.
While long haul passengers numbers were up 20% to 102,000 – compared to 85,000 in the same month in 2013.
Shares in Aer Lingus have risen since the airline rejected a takeover from the owner of British Airways last month.
- Additional reporting Aoife Barry
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Give me sunshine any day no matter how cold it is. It’s possible to miss lots of things about Ireland except the weather.
@offside again: So true… the difference it makes to your mood. Personally, I prefer to be too cold than too hot but I understand why others hate it. As my used to say ‘it’s fresh Donna’. Not sure but I think the low temperature gets rid of some germs too.
Was just thinking I hadn’t seen any sun in over a week. Glad it’s not only me that noticed
I go to work in the dark and go home when its dark,so its nothing new for me in winter,,,
@Luke Littler: I’m on to you luke LITTER. You spend your days on here fishing for likes.
Poor Dublin. God love them
@Ed H: From all of us, thank you
@Ed H: We know we live rent free in all the rest of the countries heads…..people in rural Ireland can’t finish a sentence without mentioning Dublin.
@John Paul: which countries are those Ed?
@Fionn Bohane: John Paul probably won’t understand that.
@Fionn Bohane: counties…..spell check.
@Ed H: Better than living in the “Shticks”, where it’s a 30 minute journey to the nearest town to do the shopping from the one store that has a monopoly and charges Dublin prices, seen it in many a rural area
@Ed H: hope it doesn’t affect all the cash we send your way
@Ed H: Your power been reconnected yet? Lol.
Hate to live in Dublin …. Jaysus the hours of wasted life in traffic alone heartbreak
@D: I have no problem putting up with traffic to have everything on my doorstep….pro’s and con’s to both but I’d take urban vs rural any day.
@J B: You can always stay out of it!….typical culchie up here working but wouldn’t have a good word to say about it or its people.
@J B: Good,pity you wouldn’t take the rest of them with you.typical culchie.
@D: I make it to the office in 20 minutes, can also work from home, lunchtime has a whole host of options if I fancied going out for it, the rhetoric of gridlock is in your head
@John Paul: your type are the worst thing about Dublin. West Brits with a chip on their shoulder.
@D: traffic doesn’t affect the woke dublin elites like myself who cycle to work it’s great
That’s most weeks in Leitrim but it’s news when it happens in Dublin.
@Tony: plus the west.
@brendan C5: The weather in Mayo is class.
Nothing a good carbon tax won’t fix, I’m sure.
Caller ” It’s a diiiiis..’grace Joe! They should do something about it.
Joe : “They?!?”
Caller “The government Joe!”
Why am I still living on this fkn island
@Le Merchelant: As someone who has worked mostly outside of Ireland for the past 15 years I ask myself the same EVERY SINGLE DAY – Why…….????
Got that right! Month of Mordor…. gloomy kip.
Been living under cloud in Dublin for last two weeks but we have a weekend break in Galway this weekend just as the sun moves to Dublin, it’s me, isn’t it, it’s me, I know it’s me.
Typical.
Kip will always be kip
High flying aircraft busy spreading chemicals blocking out the sun US government now banned this activity Chemtrails over whole country ..people need to know about this
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