Elevation: I agree that it is an existential issue. I do think that the release of the NTSB report on the Houston accident should put pressure on AMC and the FAA to take action against the carrier, maybe to a much greater degree than sufficient merely to cause management to settle the labor dispute. It could cause long-term damage. WN made a deal with its mechanics because the MAX grounding meant that continued labor strife would be ruinous, and the FAA was already sniffing around and finding stuff. Connie made a deal with his pilots because he wanted to expand and realized, as someone pointed out upthread, that it would be cheaper in the long run to raise wages and get more and better candidates. The ROI on the additional wage expense was positive; it wasn't just about putting butts in cockpit seats, in the manner that Flynn always seems to explain it to shareholders ("We continue to have a good flow of licensed pilots as candidates." Ahem.) Even Atlas could make a deal tomorrow if it wanted to, and I suspect that the Union has a bottom line in mind for total compensation cost that is doable for Atlas if it steps up, like any other financial transaction.
In other words, outside factors can drive deals, and I personally think that that NTSB report is going to be so bad that Atlas really ought to be getting out in front of it, because their current statements about how great their safety programs and training programs are, blah-blah, are going to be eviscerated and will come nowhere near close to extinguishing the resulting brushfire.