Babemagnet why can't your friend cover his bills on 60% which is at least €34000/year, with BUPA, Life Insurance etc?
UK minimum wage works out at around €16000/yr working 300 days 9am-5pm.
Total earnings suplimenting your 60% with minimum wage = €50000
This is the same as I earned in the military and no I do not have a pension.
Tell your friend that if he is willing to earn minimum wage (I am sure someone with the ability to be an airline pilot could easily find a job earning more) that in his first year off he is only taking a €6500 pay cut.
Can he downgrade his car? Remortgage his house? Sell the boat? Ebay all the stuff in the attic?
Granted in the year he is flying he won't be able to do another job 300 days/yr but he could still work behind a bar, on a building site or driving a cab on his 5 off. I know it is not the glamorous lifestyle he is used to but we must all adapt to survive. I good friend of mine's father used to be the senior training captain for Cathay and he spent years and years driving cabs and doing odd jobs to get by when times were hard. It builds character!!
Many people are surviving in this world on far less money/yr. Is he going to have his house repossessed on €34000/yr if so he needs to downscale and spend less.
Ducking for cover and standing by for incoming.