I have no problem in the current process of paying for flight training in order to gain the necessary qualifications required to fly commercially. As far as I'm aware - paying for flight training has always been the case, even as far back as the good old days, with the exception perhaps of those who trained in the military.
Maybe the prices have gone up a little bit more than they should be, particularly if you get hooked on the integrated courses just like I did - it would be very useful for trainee pilots to have some sort of flight training VAT exemption, but whether that ever happens remains to be seen. However - the part about pay-to-fly I DO NOT agree with....
Being taken on by an airline and "bonded" over a number of years so that you in effect repay the cost of your initial training by way of either a reduction on starting salary, or simply staying at the airline for 3/5 years whatever - I have no real issue with that - it makes business sense for the airline, and in my opinion is a fair and reasonable way of doing things.
However, the whole notion of moving things one step further - making the individual pilot pay the whole cost of your type rating in exchange for 75/100 hours of "line flying!, without a contract of employment, without any form of guarantee of further hours, and then to remain unpaid until your a fully line checked is an absolute disgrace.
It should be illegal. It sounds illegal. It's extortion, and if the paying public knew exactly who was piloting their plane on a given flight (of course, being line trained myself, yes there's a safety pilot or at least there should be), and what they'd had to do to get there - there would be outrage.
I hope these schemes are outlawed quickly - and the airlines responsible for this type of practice are held to account and made to explain why they explore this path for recruitment of their pilot workforce.