Whilst the posts of 767200ER do make amusing reading and epitomises the attitude of a newly forged University student (Student Grant from Viz anyone?) coupled with the attitude of 'I've paid for my training therefore the industry needs me' I think it is unfair to attack him for his naievity.
The current FTO system positively encourages this sort of attitude and, from what I can gather from Co-Pilots who have been through it, portrays pilots who are against the system of P2F as either jealous (low houred self improvers) or 'Old school' (who should of retired years ago to allow the new generation a go).
Personally I have to give 767200ER his due for sticking up for the path he chose and for his future employer. Good on him and I would expect no less. Sadly quotes like:
I have studied a number of subjects in this industry at university level which is more than a lot of people joining an airline have be it LHS or RHS.
shoot him down quite badly. Universities are wonderful places to get a base grounding in a fast moving industry like aviation. Sadly they give you only that, a base grounding. Reading a book and doing a 'course' doesn't give you half the insight that actually doing the job will do and does. Reading up about the mechanics, finances and regulations behind the Low Cost business model doesn't give you the whole picture as to the dark, murky dealings of the airline business. Generally it means you understand the TLA's! But then what would I know, I have only been flying for 25 years and slummed my way into the cockpit with only two degrees. Bugger.
The problem the these P2F advocates fail to see is one of both finances and workload. The finances side come to light with a previous post from 767200ER where he quotes:
I waited 6 months from finishing my training, applied to ryanair as soon as i finished and have been accepted following their assesment, Bank loan 27500 euros, earn around 60K a year so it can easily be paid off. Consider it an investment rather than expenditure, just like your training has been so far. There are jobs there, not many anywhere else.
I wish you all the best with the rest of your training and hope to fly an NG with you someday soon
This shows some lack of research based purely upon an achievable amount of money paid to a fully fledged FO flying maximum sectors and hours per year. What do you think will happen to your flying rate when you reach the end of your 'Pay to Fly' training? Simple it will diminish as the next P2F cadet takes over your still warm NG seat. The Lo-Co sector with Ryan Air can be a bit of a lottery dependent upon base, sectors, the number of drones willing to pay for your seat and flying hours!
The next problem is one that the P2F brigade have little idea about nor any particular interest in as long as they get their seat.
The workload for the LHS goes up exponentially dependent upon who is in the RHS and what experience they have. A constant rotation of low houred, inexperienced cadets through the RHS is a nightmare for any Captain. Whilst they may be qualified they are inexperienced and thus need watching twice as closely as an experienced FO. This is ok once in a while during a recruiting phase but the constant rotation gets very wearing after a while and the old complaints of 'I thought I would get more flying' or 'But thats not how it was made to look in the contract?' get tiring as well.
Quite simply, irrespective of ability, the selection criteria for pilots should be set by the airline for the purposes of the airline with the aim of retention by the airline, not a revenue stream. The ability to fly an aircraft SHOULD be a given with the issue of the fATPL (not always true but you can't have everything!), the ability to exist within the close environs of the cockpit and react quickly, correctly and with relevance should not be left up to who can pay.