Ryanride, this is only true in the short term. In the medium term this will significantly reduce salaries for everybody. Most of the pilots entering airlines at the moment expect things to get better. That is a matter of opinion, but any argument based on
The industry is so Competitive airlines cannot afford to pay for .....
carries the obvious danger that after the words "cannot affor to pay for ...." could be added:
- a type rating
- salary during training
- full salary until the end of probation
- sector pay until....
- line training ...
- the first year of line flying
- the first two years of line flying (as in "we will give you free line training and let you accrue some hours in exchange for working here for two years")
- and so on and so forth.
Once one airline starts doing "it" for competitive reasons the others will start to follow. Your argument is based on the assumption that this problem only relates to the start of a career. The difficulty is that these problems are spreading like wildfire. At this moment, in East Midlands, sit a number of pilots awaiting training with Ryanair. Many of them have been waiting for many months. That not the bad bit; here is the bad bit - they have already paid for their type rating. But since they are not "productive" they don't get paid. This has been going on for over a year now. "Get the type rating money" = entrap the pilot. You can then use him/her when you want since unpaid pilots cost you nothing. Their debt keeps them docile and "out of sight".
With the greatest of respect, you need to do a little more thinking about the modern realities of aviation and where they might take you. You may yet see the day when it is a lot worse than paying for a first type rating.