Sorry but you are wrong
There will always be individuals ready to pay or do anything to become an airline pilot. Specially if they are fooled by the FTOs and believe that there are jobs awaiting them when they get the licence. They are not to be blamed. Well, only in part, specially those who pay to work thus stealing someone else's job.
By the time they have spent some 80,000 euros, they realise that this is not true. The only way out: forward. Pay more and more to get more chances.
But it is never enough, because the saturarion of frozen ATPLs and CPLs is so extreme that the "price" of having a chance has become ridiculous: paying for flying with pax in the cabin.
For the airlines this is good, of course, but the real winners, the ones who put the money on their pockets are the FTOs and TRTOs.
I think the best solution to the "problem" of pilot shortage (experienced type rated pilots, I mean) and to the costs of training pilots that airlines incur is a compromise between self sponsor (frozen ATPL) and airline sponsor (TR).
If things are made according to:
1st Selection
2nd Training (self sponsored frozen ATPL or CPL, MCC...)
3rd Recruitment
4th further training (TR...)
Thus airlines would have good, talented, disciplined pilots (selection of the best) with a good training (at the best FTOs) for a reasonable cost (half self sponsored). They can have a good product for a reasonable price. They can also dictate the rate of pilot production by the FTOs. And the TR would be made already minded for a specific airline.
In addition, only the selected ones would spend the money. those left behind would save it!
Depending on the current situation, ATPL would be airline sponsored (with bonds) or self sponsored (no bonds.)
According tho the current:
1st Training (self sponsored frozen ATPL or CPL, MCC...)
2nd further training (TR...)
3rd FO "job renting" (line training with 500 hours or similar)
4th maybe proper recruitment and a proper job
what airlines have is pilots whose talent is basically unknown in most cases but clearly poorer in average as there hasn't been any previous selection. This product which quality no one knows is then put to fly in the airline at the airline's risk. Moneywise seems a good system, except if one day something happens.
In this system, 100 guys pay a fortune and then only 10 get the job (paying more than the others).
The FTOs are to be blamed.
Of course, they exist because of the JAA regulations, which suck.
These are to blame!
But how can you fight them????