Originally Posted by skillett

Yes you get captain pay!! Technically Mesa can downgrade you if senior peeps are upgrading after you. But we would have to be stacked with a abundance of captains. Highly unlikely unless the music stops.

Originally Posted by flapshalfspeed

1) Yes that contract is the current one. It is common for regional managements to drag negotiations out for a decade or so, because the RLA/NMB is a broken system that places zero pressure on airlines to renew decades-old contracts. There have been many, many LOAs/MOUs/clarifications regarding sections of that contract over the years--for example the commuter clause is much more lenient than the original one in the original CBA language. Maybe e-mail the association and ask for the copy that has all the interpretations/rulings/LOAs/MOUs attached.

2) If you upgrade early you'll most definitely be on CA pay. You'll still be on probation your first year, but you'll bid and be paid as a CA.

3) The only way you would be bumped back to FO would be if there were a displacement (base downsizing/closure) or loss of flying, and the company ran a bid for which you could not hold CA in any base.

4) If FOs junior to you later bid CA, they of course still go above you on the Captain roster for monthly bidding/vacation bidding/etc.

I wouldn't worry about getting bumped back to FO for the forseeable future. With attrition and new airplanes still arriving, you should upgrade fast and stay in the left seat for as long as you want to be here...you might end up getting pushed down onto reserve for a bit by FOs senior to you coming over to the left seat, but you should keep your left seat.