I think that people who count 'arriving safely at the destination' as a differentiator when choosing airlines for short-haul European flights are probably either scared of flying, or were brought up in a time when flying *was* much more dangerous (both of which are, to be fair, completely valid reasons)
However, flying has moved on (in much the same way as going to New York on the QE2 is somewhat safer than on the MayFlower). There is certainly no reason nowadays that it should be used as a differentiator for this kind of flight; it should be a given, in much the same way as you don't realistically take it into consideration when booking a train ticket, or a ride on the bus.
It's always nice not to be dead when you arrive, but its completely meaningless in any kind of sensible debate about European LCCs
