Wertzy,
That is exactly what I concluded in the late 90's. Yes I visited the 3 main schools in the UK in those days, CSE Oxford, Bae Prestwick and cabair.
They all whipped me with their glossy brochures, and gave their speaches on which airlines they had a rosy relationship with.
Trying to crank the brain a little but I think the figures were approx as follows.
CSE oxford £45000, Bae £48000 (had a nice uniform though)
Cabair £36000
In the end you will have the same licence tucked away in your pocket.
I chose Cabair, had a great time and got through the course.
As I'm sure you are all aware, luck plays an important part. One of the regionals was looking for pilots and approached cabair. My cv was put forward and I got a direct entry onto a jet.
A friend of mine went to Oxford about the same time, passed the course, but unfortunately couldn't find a job. Apparently not many airlines were approaching CSE in those days. But now it seems that the tide has changed, a few airlines are approaching CSE. You just can't predict the future.
For me what it boiled down to was ££££££££££££'s and nothing else.
Good luck to you all.