Bonuses and its associated culture is also much to blame. It generates short-term thinking and the quest for immediate profit. One the annual bonus is earned and it's in the bank it is safe. Crews are in it for the long-haul, bonus fed managers for the short-haul. Even if the company goes bust, is akin over, or falls on hard times the bonus is in the bank. Share-holders can also be in it for the quick profit. They are many, individuals & fund managers, who buy - sell over short periods to achieve small but accumulative profits.
The cost/wage cutting, to achieve the immediate profits, will never be recovered. Once chopped they stay chopped, even if they did long-term damage. Managers can always move on to other airlines or other industries; pilots are stuck in their professionals merry go-round. It is the same for many vocational professions. It is abused and exploited.