Great original post and some very interesting answers. Could I throw in an additional question? I find myself in a very similar situation as Ron, except my command is at Ryanair rather than easyJet. So, Ryanair command or Virgin FO?
I am not in the lucky position of Ron with a stable base in the UK's South East, but rather on an undesirable contract which frequently sees me away from my young family for 5 or 6 days at a time at various bases around Europe - with little hope of a return to the UK for the next year or so, and even if I do manage that I can still be sent away at the company's demands any time.
Then, would that persuade anyone that VS is a better option?