I will have to agree that a Delta pilot making more than 50% more than an Emirates pilot might be a bit high. However when you include everything and I mean everything there is no and I mean no comparison between the two pilots.
A Delta pilot works 10 days max. In the very near future an Emirates pilot will be lucky to have 10 days off a month.
A Delta pilot works 75 hours a month while a Emirates pilot works 95 and soon to be over a 100 hours. . That 25% difference in work hours is equivalent to the tax burden back home (and abroad if you are an US citizen).
Also a U.S. Major pilot has a much better lifestyle back home. He lives in a bigger house, has a bigger yard (not a garden), and can join a better country club or just a country club. Even FOs in the states have a better lifestyle than an Emirates captain. Note I didn't say salary but that is very close.
We can argue tax implications, lifestyle and whose male organ is bigger but with all things equal (we are not comparing RJs to wide bodies) there is no comparison. How many Emirates pilots are trying to get to Delta vs how many Delta pilots are trying to go to Emirates? I know of two Emirates pilots that left Delta many years ago and have re-applied to go back to Delta.
Here's hoping to a very large Bonus and pay raise.