Times have changed. Newhires are being forced the 777 and 757/767 at United. Delta LAX 75/767 CA went to a pandemic DOH 03/2020. Those who are willing to take the first spot can get widebody FO spots fairly quickly. AA and UA widebody CAs still going senior but Delta has a mixed narrowbody/widebody group of the the 757/767 and that's apparently been going junior.

And that's NOT just "only half of it." People in their 20s and 30s are deciding where to work at for their remaining 25-40 yrs of their career. You'd be silly to not consider all the factors that are BEYOND just pay.

Lets take a DOH today May 2023 at AS, B6, NK, and F9. And a DOH today May 2023 at AA, DL, and UA. What's the relative seniority of this guy at 5 yrs from now in 2028? And then 10 yr total at 2033? He'll do 2x as good in terms of movement up the seniority list at the big 3 than at any National major/LCC. It's a simple numbers game - and I don't mean pay.