Deferred commands
Its interesting that pilots would defer command. Lets assume that 9 year veterans are remaining on, or taking a base at say SFO 1 rather than do a HKG based command. At current exchange rates, these FOs are earning between 6-15% less than a HKG based captain. However, if he waits on the base and gains seniority to get a based command, he will be on 20-29% more than hkg based captains.
So I guess it is a case of a certain basing now, with a little less money with maybe much more money to make up for delayed command, later!