My previous post was just intended to show some facts, but I am of a similar opinion to MBA. I came through the CTC scheme a year after September 11th, when things weren't as rosy as they appear to be now, and with the 5 grand living expenses I'm worse off by about 9 grand compared to a modular student. For me, the conditional job offer from the sponsor airline, confidence from having passed a rigorous selection procedure and 30 grand money back if you flunk meant that keeping my nervous system in check for the year's training was probably, for me, worth the extra expense. I would not have been able to put myself through the same without the support I received from both CTC and my airline during that period. I appreciate that not everyone is the same in this respect.
The point that keeps coming up about CTC being a modular course is irrelevant. It has some implications for the way hours are logged and hour requirements for licence issue, but that is it. The 'bond' was never as low as £50000, it started at £60000 and I believe now there is a supplement to be payed if you are starting ab-initio, for the PPL phase. This puts the total basic cost at a level very similar to the OAT TCX scheme, excluding the issue about accomodation/travel costs.