Say you've been an FO for 5 years and get to upgrade to captain. Would you jump down to 1st year captain pay or get paid 5th year captain because you've been with the company for 5 years? Thanks.

Most companies you take your longivity into the left seat. I have read that at Virgin America you drop down to year one pay.

This is true; I've also heard that their upgrade isn't solely based upon seniority but merit as well.

Cathay Pacific is another company where you drop back to year 1 pay when you upgrade.

Many non-US carriers start you over as a year one CA, so it's not surprising that VA does that as well.

But many non-US carriers also pay very well for first-year CA pay...

True that...

ok good for them (non-US)... but how about US Regional Airlines?? AE? XJET? SKYWAY? RAH?... i was about to ask the same question in this forum a couple of days ago...

No, at these carriers you go from 5 year FO pay to 5 year CA pay.

Yes, true. Their payscales are not bad, just organized differently.