POV only.
From an historical perspective Airlines safety has everything to do with two things.
Dramatic improvements in Powerplants, and a better understanding, and management of Weather.
Both had to do with economics. UAL: (on the DC6) "RADAR equipped".
Time in Transit. Less fuel with a concomitant increase in pricing. Safety is in there, but mostly as a left handed marketing tool. It is poor marketing to allow clients to think too long of safety.
The result of the sacrifice of these folks will be in catching AirFrance with trousers down. For money. Is there another way to see it? To the extent that punishment is harsh, and the deal improves for passengers/crew, it is a sad but important take-away.