I can't speak for others,.....but the area of interest for myself is whether or not Earhart was educated about any surrounding Emergency landing areas in the event Howland was missed, per her quote from the last flight...
In final form flight charts are really lovely things. On them are drawn the compass courses with their periodic changes, distances, airports and the like. As supplementary data accumulates the marginal notes assume encyclopedic proportions. They concern details about airports, service facilities, prevailing winds, characteristics of local weather and terrain, critical altitudes, emergency landing possibilities and the like.
I realize the last flight book,and any statements, quotes within it,may have been embellished upon a bit,by George P....so some may have to be taken with a grain of salt....However; it seems that she surrounded herself with those who knew the who, what and where's ( Williams, Noonan,Mantz,) to mention some, in fact in her employ for that purpose. If Earhart didn't know of the existence of the Phoenix chain, maybe a share of the blame lies with them, and that is why the word Phoenix or Gardner is never heard in any radio transmission.....but consider,....even if Earhart was dis-interested in their existence, even up until her last in air transmission, and later, they did indeed spot Gardner,....Now, I will try not to say Wouldn't....But, Before Fred possibly became incapacitated upon landing may he have enlightened her, to the term Phoenix, if he didn't know which island they saw? What was Fred's reason for being along , if not to know these things?