Originally Posted by
Voski
I've got a question about posted pay scales.
How does it work if say, a First Officer at ExpressJet has four years of right seat time making $40/hr? Let's say this First Officer elects to upgrade from a CRJ200 to a CRJ700. Does he/she start over at $23/hr or does he go to $42/hr for his/her four years of flight experience with the company? Is it the same way with Captains?
Another way of asking this question is this: do you get paid for your experience level in a specific aircraft at the company, your overall years experience as either a FO or CA at the company, or your total years at the company with the aircraft being the variable?
The more accurate answer is...
...your total years at the company with the aircraft and seat being the variable.
Example: A 10 year FO upgrades to Captain which he/she can only hold on more junior equipment...say 777 to 737. The pay scale for that person would change from a 10 year 777 FO to a 10 year 737 Captain.
Keep in mind that junior base/equipment is a relative term that changes as the crew force decides what is important to them. While it might closely follow pay scales, it doesn't always. Example: there are plenty of senior FOs at FedEx that could easily hold widebody captain in Hong Kong but choose to stay stateside.