Thanks for your comments, whats_it_doing_now?
By way of clarification, I do not in any way wish to pour insult on BA cadets - without a doubt the vast majority are good guys/gals. I never applied because the scheme did not exist at the time I would have been competing for places. But yes, they are unbelievably lucky because there are huge numbers of other equally high quality wannabees out there for whom the road will be considerably harder. By the sound of things you are now a senior BA pilot, enjoying all the many wonderful priveleges that bestows. And best of luck to you! I am genuinely glad that there are people at the top of the tree doing very well - it is great for them personally and the industry as a whole.
I would be very disappointed to think that you or others who have benefitted from free flying training, the most secure job in the industry and virtually guaranteed promotion to the very top would be anything else other than exceedingly thankful. I am not one of those knocking BA - the standards are very high and there is a rigorous selection procedure (which I have never been through). Spare a thought for those other good guys/gals out there who are fantastic at their job but have had to fight every step of the way to get there, because for a variety of reasons were unable to take advantage of such a marvellous scheme as the BA cadet system.
By BA standards £21k is not a lot. I am sure you are aware, however, that there are many turboprop FOs out there getting paid less than that and they are also burdened with massive debt (£30-50k in many cases). They have no guaranteed future - the best they can hope for is to get a crack at one of the larger airlines after they have accumulated suitable hours. Even if they eventually get a look-in at BA, they will be years behind in the seniority list and still have big debts to pay off.
So there you have it. Please do not take this as any attack on BA cadets - they are undoubtedly good people. There are, however, lots of other equally good people who were just not that lucky. Spare a thought for them and the hard road they are travelling on. BA cadets are the most priveleged of all aviators in the country, and I hope they will never lose sight of just how fortunate they have been.