It's not sponsorship, it never has been, you pay for the training yourself with a loan ( which you are always responsible for ) and then pay it back out of you salary.
Your salary is effectively the same as a direct entry F/O who isn't on the wings scheme, it's just paid to you differently ( mainly with regards to tax ). If the direct entry F/O has flying loans then he/she's in the same situation as a CTC Wings guy with the HSBC loan. You earn the same. The benefit over other schemes is the job placement record. Period.
WBV