You can never really criticize somebody's decision to stay at a regional for whatever reason. Your buddy enjoys a decent enough QOL that suits him well. And in reality, that three weeks off is probably more than that. At my shop, 1 "week" of vacation usually equates to 21 days off, with no hit in minimum monthly guarantee. So three weeks would be 63 days off a year, and possibly more depending on how you bid. Not too shabby.

But some things that have to be considered;

He's been there 12 years, how old will you be if you reach that level? If you got hired today, how long would it take you to get into the CA's seat and start earning a better paycheck than an FO gets?

Again, 12 years. How much career crap sandwich did he have to eat in those 12 years? By that, regional CBA's aren't what they always were in the past. How many years did he spend making sub par wages to get to that point? Was he fortunate enough to get into the CA's seat quickly and not have to give it up a time or two? Or did he have to sit FO for years before upgrading? Also, 12 years, depending on where he's at, PFT was the norm, not the exception.

And here's the most important, it's STILL a "regional" airline. Regional airline employees will ALWAYS be subject to the same problems. Watching the flying be parceled out to another carrier, being forced into concessions because the legacy they codeshare is losing money like crazy, regional airline management, etc. Long workdays and short overnights.

Can that happen at a legacy/major as well? Of course it can. But being the whipping boy of a management who is THEN the whipping boy of ANOTHER management is no fun. In other words, being a regional pilot means you're the whipping boy, twice removed.