Sal-e - I agree - though if you look at my history of posts I think I have always been even keeled and, even in my complaints about GF, have tread the high road. The fact is I LIKE GF!! My reason for leaving are clear and I will miss my friends and the people I work with.
GF greatest asset is its small size. It is nice looking at your roster and knowing the Captain and some FA's that your are flying with will head out for a nice dinner and a few drinks.
I agree that there are jobs everywhere. The problem with our industry is that it is seniority driven. Waiting a year or two (if you are an FO) means at least that long less in the left seat somewhere and the loss of that income. Worst case it means you miss the boat on an upgrade by even longer should things slow down. And, at some point, they will slow down.
That was the deciding point for me. In my mid 30's I have less time to make a mistake in my career decision making. So I went for, what I hope, is the stable choice with the opportunities.
Perhaps I am jaded but I have friends, some at GF actually, who were hired behind me by only about 6 months - 2 jobs ago. I saw a left seat at BOTH company's prior to GF and they saw only the right. In total earnings over that time they lost out on about $130,000 in income plus the command time that came with it. Just plane (pun intended) bad luck but I know seniority can make a huge difference and so "I takes my chances" now as opposed to later.
But you are dead right - time will tell and, hopefully, we will all end our careers, wherever that may be, happy with the decisions we made. Despite the bitching on these forums I am pretty confident we all want the same thing - to make decent money, enjoy our jobs and feed our families.