Everyone has to make the best choice for themselves and their family... however, at the risk of sounding koolaid, I think some of the doom and gloom is overblown.

1. Eventually there will be a new contract. It may not be the Delta contract, but it will be an improvement in pay and time off

2. The MD80s will eventually be gone. Probably sooner than later once the A320NEOs start hitting the street and airlines trade up

3. The company prints money, and the potential markets where the business model works is huge

4. Home every night, sleeping in your own bed, eating your own food, in the same time zone, and seeing you family is hard to quantify in value, but for a lot of people it's priceless

5. Most people bailing from G4 are going to AA or WN. The same thing happens at Jetblue and Spirit

6. MX is still better than almost any regional airline, especially the ones who use contract mx. An issue is the JT8D can't be treated like a CRJ or ERJ engine. And the expense of maintaining them in the way it would take to improve things is counterbalanced by their relatively short remaining life

Just a few things off the top of my head... For people thinking of applying at G4 and live in Florida or Vegas especially, don't be taken in by all the negativity.