He'll make more money as a 12th yr SWA 737 captain than any Delta captain (be it 767, 787, or 777).
That won't last. It looks like Delta will be getting more 777s and even 787s, and they are forcasted to be profitable, which means future pay raises. A friend of mine there said they can get up to 6% raises each of the next couple years if they are profitable (pre tax too), and that is very possible. Also, you won't have to fly in a cramped 737 across the nation if you don't want to. At Delta you can ditch the 738 for something bigger if you want. Not at Southwest. You are either doing 5 legs in a smaller 737-300 around California, or doing a transcon in a -700 with no room to stretch. No meals either, except peanuts. My buddy at DL says any flight over 5 1/2 hours now at DL must have first class meals available to both pilots. That covers most transcons from JFK to the West Coast. And remember this too, the reason Southwest pilots got higher pay raises is becuase of the Delta pilots raising the bar. They will get it back eventually.