You must deposit a cash bond to CTC which is paid (usually by HSBC if you opt for their finance) in instalments. This is initially £60,000 but by the time you actually get round to start paying it back, it has gone up to £84,000 with interest. The repayments then work out at £1000/month for 7 years.
So, in answer to PPL152, let's call this bit £84,000 as that's what you'll actually be paying, whether it's directly from your salary or through the airline's repayments when you're on your (reduced) cadet salary.
So far, other costs to me have been:
Insurance - £600+
Foundation course - £4100
Class 1 medical - £302
Various trips to Bournemouth and Dibden (inc Stage 2 fee) - wrong side of £500 (and that's low compared to some people)
Accommodation is provided, including (I think) bills when living in the provided houses in Bournemouth (I'm about a year of getting to that stage yet so I don't know) but food and other living expenses are not.
I'd say it's definitely upwards of 90 grand in total, but you can't put a concrete figure on it because that depends very much on your lifestyle. One thing that is very important to remember, though, is that although it may seem a lot the debt is all manageable - far more so than in many other courses. The £60,000 bond is unsecured, meaning you won't have to go and remortgage your parents' house to pay for it like you would with some other schemes. There are no up-front payments, and HSBC take care of all that side of the finance for you once you've signed the forms. You won't start repaying it until you start working for an airline, and although people may argue that it's not true "sponsorship" because in effect you'll be paying for it through a slightly reduced salary, it's definitely the most manageable and affordable way of getting into one of the best FTOs with the best career prospects on offer.
The main concern to me was raising the money for the foundation course, for which CTC do not pay - which is pretty much the cost of a PPL. With regards to the £60k bond, it doesn't matter whether you go through CTC and their method of doing it or another FTO and take out a bank loan independently. It's going to cost you a hell of a lot of money wherever you go if you want the best prospects of a job; the main difference is the way you pay it back. If you don't like the sound of getting in nearly £100k of debt (which I will be, taking my student loan into consideration as well) then you'd be better off getting a job elsewhere, doing modular training and working your way up through the industry rather than entering on jets.
Essentially, although it's expensive, you get what you pay for.
And to those of you wondering whether or not to apply - from my experience so far, I couldn't recommend it highly enough. It's absolutely fantastic out here, the whole set-up is just absolutely top notch.