@LCYslicker
I was not attempting to impune Air Asia or its pilot in this incident, I was just pointing out that there *are* concerns over safety in some of these carriers and that this has resulted in EU bans. There are plenty of incidents in non-banned carriers.
Rather, I was making the point that assumptions about adequate regulation and training are common among the lay passenger in the west. Therefore it is not surprising that there is a focus on fares/fees rather than safety as safety is a "given". Contra the OP, it doesn't mean these passengers don't care, it means they do not have the general knowledge or capability to understand the choices. Kind of like car buyers before crash tests began rating the survivability of various crashes.