Cost reduction in low cost airlines comes at the expense of increased stress on pilots. A previous post mentions the Colgan crash - here is a section about that crash that I wrote in a case study about the Flybe heavy landing in Belfast in February 2014 by the one-armed pilot:
"The US National Transportation Safety Board’s investigation into the crash of a Colgan Air Dash 8 just outside of the airport at Buffalo, New York on Feb 12, 2009 revealed alarming facts about the lifestyles of pilots on low cost airlines in the United States. Both of the pilots routinely slept overnight on couches in the airline’s Newark Airport Crew Lounge. Neither pilot actually lived in New York – one lived in Seattle, the other in Florida, and both commuted to their Newark base by free air travel."
"Their long commutes (5 hours for the First Officer and 3 hours for the Captain) plus their uncomfortable sleeping arrangements were considered to have contributed to fatigue as an element of the crash. Internet pilot discussion groups attributed their bizarre no-frills lifestyles to their low pay, but noted that this was a common practice when such pilots could not afford hotels, and could not afford the housing costs of their home low-cost airline base. This lifestyle image was in stark contrast to the popular image of the glamorous lifestyles of flag and legacy pilots, accommodated in first-class hotels at layover destinations."
These facts are not directly related to the specific stresses on this Germanwings FO, but are sadly part of the general new psychological environment for low-cost airline pilots all over the world.