Regardless if he was flying the route or not, I still think it's neat for captains to come around and greet the pax for their airline.

I remember years ago as a child some Midwest Express pilots doing that. On one occasion, my sister and I were flying alone to my grandparents in FL (I was 8 at the time) and the pilot saw I had a a book on commercial aircraft and airlines in my hand while I was waiting to board. So talked with me about airlines and planes for a bit, then gave me his wings ; to this day I still have those wings.