At the risk of getting flamed, as I usually do when I poke my head up in this forum, I'll add my two penn'th as a VFF, just in case anyone here is interested in the customers' perspective.
I agree with Cino2Go that if I was going to be in an emergency evacuation I would rather I was on BA or Qantas than Cathay, Singapore or Virgin Express (to pick some names at random). I can't justify this statistically - it is just a perception (plus the anecdotal evidence from the SQ006 case in Taipei).
However. despite this "we are here primarily for your safety" ethos which is drilled (quite rightly) into all cabin crew, I fear that most pax do not chose their carrier solely or even primarily on these grounds.
In my mind, the first criterion is a basic safety "hurdle"... which is a perception-based judgement under which I feel an airline is safe enough, or it isn't. Currently, of the airlines I might fly, China Airlines, Korean Airlines, Garuda and Air India fail this hurdle, and all the others pass. There is also an equipment-type hurdle, which MD11 and DC-10 currently fail (i.e. I won't fly on them) and all other Boeing, Airbus, Embraerer (sp?), BAe etc. pass, although I have a preference for going trans-oceanic with four engines rather than two.
After that, safety becomes a very small factor in the equation. Much more important are: the overall pleasantness of the experience (from check-in, security, through lounges, and onboard), the price, and whether I get (the right brand of) airmiles!
When all this is taken into account I prefer OneWorld, with Cathay at the top, followed by BA, QF and AA. The cabin crew on CX are more consistently pleasant, cheerful and efficient than the others, who on a good day can be great, but on a bad day can be awful.
I haven't tried Virgin Blue, but if it is anything like Virgin Express in Europe then I am unlikely to, for the simple reason that there was only one seat on their 737s into which someone of 6'3" can fit. This is by far a more significant issue than a small increase or decrease in the likely survivability of a very, very low probability incident.