OP, tell your "friend" that if they are happy at their current job, maybe they should stay there. Why go to another airline if you are happy where you are? It's not like a SWA pilot doesn't make a good living.
Those on here that tell you that a 3 year wide body FO can make over $300K in a year aren't telling you that that FO is also working a lot of extra. Same thing for the 75 captain whose username would imply that they don't work. If that captain is making over $350k, he is working a lot of extra. That same captain also claims that they will only fly their line when we enter contract negotiation, so I guess he is looking forward to a $60k pay cut. It will be even more for that 3 year FO if they just fly their line.
Are there pilots that get their home town, yes. Same for weekend layovers near their home and double deadheads. But less than half of the lines have weekend layovers, and around 30% of the lines or less are double deadheads. Someone is flying the remainder of the lines. Unless you want to stay attached to a device, constantly checking open time in order to improve your flying, chances are, you will hub turn at night at some point, if not frequently.
There are certain holidays that you can not drop if they are awarded to you. Those included Christmas, New Years, and Thanksgiving. If you get a line that has one of those trips, unless you are lucky enough to be able to trade out of it, you are stuck with it. Again, someone is flying those trips, so don't let your "friend" think that everyone has those holidays off.
We have over 5000 pilots. A little less than 1500 of those pilots are either 777, HKG, CGN, or ANC based. That leaves the majority of 3500+ pilots competing for those coveted weekend layovers or domestic double deadheads. Can your friend get that if that is what they want? Possibly, but the math shows that it isn't a guarantee.
So, back to my original statement. If your "friend" is happy where they are, why leave? If they are unhappy, then maybe a change of scenery is in order.
