Fruet Mich: Couldn't agree more. We've got to collectively say no. It's absolute BS. Why would anyone sell their soul just to fly something with swept wings?
Mad...and stupid. I used to bang on and on about paying for type ratings when it first came about. Now the industry (us!) has got used to it and we don't talk about it any more. But paying for medicals and charts? WTF?
As if the low pay wasn't bad enough already but all these "incidental" costs? On top of a huge debt for a type rating?
Here's an idea. Go to a properly qualified investment advisor and put the numbers across the table. Tell them you're going to shell out the thick end of $50k which you'll also pay interest on, then you'll sit in a global recession working for a new LCC that doesn't have either high yields or anything resembling a market share. It's a bad deal. Walk away.