What AirlineRatings does

AirlineRatings Pty Ltd is a privately held, Perth-based operator of the Airlineratings.com platform, launched in 2012 as an early-mover consumer-facing airline safety rating service. The company assesses more than 320 airlines worldwide using a proprietary Seven-Star Safety Rating methodology built on five parameters: IOSA accreditation, pilot-related incidents, operating safety standards, EU air safety list status, and fatal accidents over the trailing ten years. The core offering is a free, web-based directory of airline safety ratings, passenger reviews (more than 12,000 reviews), and daily editorial aviation news, supplemented by an annual cycle of rankings (World's Safest Airlines, World's Best Airlines, World's Safest Low-Cost/Ultra Low-Cost Airlines, Best Cabin Crew) and a passenger-voted Flyers' Choice Awards program.

The company's underlying technology is a content publishing and ratings platform with three production layers: a safety assessment engine drawing on the IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) registry, EU air safety list, and incident databases; an editorial CMS powering daily news, cabin reviews, and feature articles; and a community review module enabling traveler-submitted reviews. A premium layer, Seven Star PLUS, was introduced in October 2025 as a voluntary, anonymous cabin safety audit program across multiple flights, evaluating practical application of turbulence management, seatbelt enforcement, electronic device policy, and battery pack protocols; 13 such audits had been completed by June 2026 with 9 earning PLUS status. The platform also integrates with SkyScanner for embedded flight search and booking.

Revenue is generated through two primary streams. First, consumer advertising and paid partnerships with airlines and travel-related businesses, governed by signed agreements with upfront payment and USD pricing (with GST applied only to Australian customers). Second, B2B data licensing, where corporate travel managers at universities, mining and engineering firms, oil and gas companies, and financial institutions use AirlineRatings data daily to guide staff travel decisions under duty-of-care frameworks. The platform also implicitly monetizes through SkyScanner referral economics from embedded booking. The company is independently operated with no disclosed venture capital, private equity, or parent-company backing; Sharon Petersen serves as CEO. Distribution is global via web, with social presence on Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn, and a recurring email newsletter.

Name

AirlineRatings

Legal name

Airline Ratings Pty Ltd

Website

https://airlineratings.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

AirlineRatings is a privately held, Perth-based aviation safety ratings platform that rates 300+ airlines using a proprietary Seven-Star methodology and serves both consumer travelers and corporate travel managers with paid safety data licensing.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Perth

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Advertising and Partnership Services: The company generates revenue through advertising agreements with airlines and travel-related businesses. All advertising campaigns are governed by signed agreements with payment required in advance. Prices are quoted in USD with GST applicable for Australian businesses only.
2. B2B Data Licensing: External users including universities, mining and engineering firms, gas and oil companies, and financial establishments use Airline Ratings data daily to guide staff travel decisions.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

AirlineRatings operates a consumer-facing web platform that publishes proprietary 7-star airline safety ratings covering 300+ airlines worldwide using IOSA accreditation, pilot incident records, operating safety history, EU flight bans, and fatal accident data. The platform combines these safety ratings with 12,000+ passenger reviews, editorial airline reviews, daily aviation news, annual World's Safest Airlines and World's Best Airlines rankings, the Flyers' Choice Awards, and the premium Seven Star PLUS cabin safety audit program offered to airlines.

Product overview

AirlineRatings operates as a unified platform combining airline safety ratings, passenger reviews, and aviation news into a single service. The core product is the airline safety rating system covering 300+ airlines worldwide using a 7-star methodology, complemented by a 12,000+ passenger review platform and daily editorial news coverage. The platform offers annual awards programs including World's Safest Airlines rankings, World's Best Airlines awards, and the Flyers' Choice Awards for passenger voting. A premium add-on is the Seven Star PLUS cabin safety audit program for airlines. Additional services include IOSA registry information, newsletter subscriptions, and flight search integration via SkyScanner partnership.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Airline Safety Ratings Flagship consumer and B2B product delivering comprehensive 7-star safety ratings across 300+ airlines worldwide, based on IOSA accreditation, pilot-related incidents, operating safety standards, EU flight bans, and fatal accident history over the prior 10 years.
• Airline Reviews Platform Passenger review platform with 12,000+ reviews across cabin classes, enabling travelers to share and read firsthand airline experiences to inform booking decisions.
• Seven Star PLUS Cabin Safety Audit Voluntary premium cabin safety audit program available to airlines that hold a Seven-Star rating; conducted anonymously across six flights and assesses turbulence management, seatbelt enforcement, electronic device protocols, and portable battery pack handling. Airlines that pass earn Seven Star PLUS certification.
• World's Safest Airlines Annual Rankings Annual editorial product ranking the top 25 safest full-service airlines, top 25 safest low-cost carriers, and top 10 safest ultra low-cost carriers each January, based on AirlineRatings' 7-star safety methodology.
• World's Best Airlines Awards Annual editorial awards program recognizing airline excellence across categories such as Best Business Class, Best Airline Lounge, Best Full-Service Airline, Best Low-Cost Carrier, Best Cabin Crew, and Best Airline Cargo Operation.
• Flyers' Choice Awards Annual consumer voting awards program where travelers nominate and select favorite airlines across regions, cabin crew style, safety vibes, and airline liveries.

Quantifiable outcome

• IOSA registered airlines have 2.5x lower accident rate than non-registered carriers (1.40 vs 3.49 accidents per million sectors)
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability4 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• SkyScannerminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartnership for flight booking integration allowing users to search and book flights directly through the AirlineRatings platform. SkyScanner provides the flight search functionality while AirlineRatings provides the airline safety context for informed booking decisions.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Skytrax: Skytrax runs the most recognized global airline star-rating system and the annual World Airline Awards — the closest direct competitor to AirlineRatings' Seven-Star Safety Rating and World's Best Airlines awards. Both publish annual safety and quality rankings of the same airline universe.
• AirlineQuality.com: AirlineQuality.com hosts a large database of passenger airline reviews with aggregated scores, directly comparable to AirlineRatings' 12,000+ reviews and rating platform for travelers.

Broad incumbents

• TripAdvisor: TripAdvisor dominates consumer travel reviews across airlines, hotels, and destinations, and includes airline ratings and reviews within a much broader travel marketplace. Comparable as a consumer-facing travel review platform, though it does not focus on aviation safety.
• J.D. Power: J.D. Power produces widely cited airline customer satisfaction studies and rankings, comparable to AirlineRatings' annual awards and rankings but rooted in survey-based satisfaction rather than safety methodology.
• Skyscanner: Skyscanner is a global flight search and comparison platform that is already an AirlineRatings distribution partner for booking integration. Comparable as a consumer-facing flight discovery and pricing platform, though it does not publish safety ratings.
• Kayak: Kayak is a leading flight and travel search engine with airline ratings and reviews layered on top of price comparison. Comparable as a flight discovery and review destination, though without a dedicated aviation-safety rating system.
• Google Flights: Google Flights aggregates flight search and increasingly surfaces airline-quality signals, making it a broad incumbent adjacent to AirlineRatings' safety-and-discovery proposition for travelers.

Emerging players

• The Points Guy: The Points Guy is a major consumer travel-media brand covering airline reviews, rankings, and rewards — overlapping with AirlineRatings' editorial reviews and ranking content but centered on loyalty economics rather than safety.

Others

• FlightAware: FlightAware is a leading flight-tracking and aviation-data platform. Not a direct competitor on consumer ratings, but an adjacent aviation-information provider that supplies flight-status data used by many of the same travelers.
• ATPCO (Routehappy): ATPCO, including the Routehappy product, supplies airline content and merchandising data (amenities, seat maps) to distributors and OTAs. Comparable as aviation-data infrastructure underlying airline-product information, though it serves a different buyer than AirlineRatings.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/AirlineRatings
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/airlineratings-com
• Instagraminstagram.com/airline_ratings
• Xx.com/airline_ratings

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about AirlineRatings