Tough proposition. How much to give up to start over? Is it worth the risk? What about the retirements factor? We don't have anywhere near the retirement numbers that legacies have. Is that worth looking at? Lots and lots of variables.
At Southwest, if you live in base and are willing to hustle, there is no doubt you'll make a lot of money. Even if premium dries up, you can still put up good numbers by changing your strategy. How feasible is that at UAL? How about as a junior NB captain? What about as a WB FO?
There is no doubt that if all you do is fly your line and go home, you'll do much better at UAL, or pretty much anywhere else. But can you do better at those airlines if you want to hustle? How easy is to put up 1.5 times your monthly guarantee consistently at UAL? How about Delta or American? Fedex? As a junior guy? Is being a junior captain worth it at those airlines? Lots of variables and many personal choices involved.
This is why I'm a fan of those W-2 threads, and especially when many data points such as block hours flown and days worked are shared with the figures. This is the type of data that could influence people's decisions one way or another and this year, I hope people start sharing their data and not get sidetracked by those who somehow see it as a dick-measuring contest.