What are the world’s safest airlines for 2017?

Good news has been in short supply the last 12 months, but for nervous fliers there’s one ray of light: 2016 was one of the safest years in aviation history.

Despite some high-profile accidents, the number of airplane crashes has in fact been steadily declining over the last 20 years.

And for those still keen to analyze the field, there’s the annual announcement of AirlineRatings.com’s safest airline award.

This year the aviation analyst named 20 leading carriers as the world’s best at ensuring passenger protection.

And, for the fourth year in succession, the Australia-based website says Australian carrier Qantas leads the 425 airlines it monitors when it comes to aviation safety.

AirlineRatings.com, which launched its annual listing in 2013, says Qantas “remains the standout in safety enhancements and operational excellence” with no recorded fatalities since the advent of jet travel.

Completing the top 20 in alphabetical order are: Air New Zealand, Alaska Airlines, All Nippon Airways, British Airways, Cathay Pacific Airways, Delta Air Lines, Etihad Airways, EVA Air, Finnair, Hawaiian Airlines, Japan Airlines, KLM, Lufthansa, Scandinavian Airline System, Singapore Airlines, Swiss, United Airlines, Virgin Atlantic and Virgin Australia.

Standout in safety

“Our top 20 safest airlines are always at the forefront of safety innovation, operational excellence and the launching of more advanced aircraft like the A350, 787 and 777X,” says AirlineRatings.com editor Geoffrey Thomas.

But when it comes to the world leader, he and his team have no doubt: “Over its 96-year history Qantas has amassed an amazing record of firsts in safety and operations and is now accepted by the British Advertising Standards Association as the industry’s most experienced carrier.”

AirlineRatings.com says Qantas has led the way in the development of the Future Air Navigation System, the use of the Flight Data Recorder to monitor plane and later crew performance, automatic landings using Global Navigation Satellite System as well as precision approaches around mountains in cloud using RNP.

The organization also named its top 10 low-cost airlines for 2016.

These are, in alphabetical order: Aer Lingus, Flybe, HK Express, Jetblue, Jetstar Australia, Jetstar Asia, Thomas Cook, Virgin America, Vueling and Westjet.

Unlike a number of low-cost carriers, these airlines have all passed the rigorous International Air Transport Association Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) which has more than 1,000 audit items.

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Thomas Cook: AirlineRatings.com has released its annual list of the world's safest airlines -- including a rundown of the 10 low-cost carriers it says are the safest. Among them is Thomas Cook Airlines, an offshoot of the venerable British travel agency. Click on through the gallery to find out the other nine safest budget carriers, in alphabetical order.

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Aer Lingus: Ireland's national flag carrier took the bold step of repositioning itself as a low-cost airline after the financial crisis of 2008 left it struggling with heavy losses and facing drastic staff cuts.

PETER MUHLY/AFP/Getty Images

Flybe: Another well-established carrier, Flybe began life as Jersey European Airways in 1979 and has undergone several rebrandings before emerging as Flybe in 2002. Its impeccable safety record has been unblemished by unusual recent events including a bee attack on a pilot and an incident in which a pilot's false arm fell off.

Courtesy Lasta20/Flickr/CreativeCommons

HK Express: Founded in 2004, HKExpress transformed itself into a low-cost carrier in 2013 in an effort to reverse its troubled fortunes. AirlineRatings.com says all the budget carriers on its list have passed stringent International Air Transport Association operational safety audits, unlike many of their rivals.

Matthew HINTON/AFP/Getty Images

JetBlue: Now in its 17th year, JetBlue originally sold itself as being a cut above other no-frills airlines, by claiming to offer better in-flight entertainment perks. It has bases in New York, Long Island, Boston, Fort Lauderdale and Orlando and has a fleet of more than 240 aircraft.

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Jetstar Australia: A budget offshoot of Aussie carrier Qantas, Jetstar has hubs in most major Australian cities and is headquartered in Melbourne.

courtesy Jetstar

Jetstar Asia: Jetstar Asia, based out of Singapore, has differentiated itself from the competition through fun marketing ploys such as bringing in a feng shui master to analyze its fleet of A320s.

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Virgin America: Virgin America was founded in 2007 and was recently acquired by Alaska Air Group. An expanded route network now covers 118 destinations across the US, Mexico, Canada, Costa Rica and Cuba.

AFP/Getty Images

Vueling: Established in 2004, Vueling is a Spanish low-cost airline headquartered out of Barcelona El Prat Airport and is part of the International Airlines Group (IAG). In March 2017 it will launch a new route between Birmingham, UK and Paris-Orly.

Bruce Bennett/Getty Images

WestJet: One of the oldest airlines on this list, Canada's WestJet was launched in 1996. Based in Calgary, it offers destinations, some via code share, across Canada, America, the Caribbean, Ireland and the UK.

Incidents and accidents

AirlineRatings.com’s rating system takes into account audits from aviation’s governing bodies and lead associations as well as government audits and the airlines’ fatality records.

It also examines airlines’ operational histories, incident records and operational excellence.

American Airlines and Emirates dropped out of 2016’s top 20 lists due to incidents and accidents they suffered in the last 12 months.

British Airways and Delta Air Lines both had serious incidents in 2015, but have now moved back into top slots for 2016.

AirlineRatings.com says if an airline has a crash that involves the death of a passenger and/or crew members it will automatically lose a star from its safety-rating rankings for a period of 10 years.

Of the 425 airlines surveyed, 148 have the top seven-star safety ranking but close to 50 have just three stars or fewer.