Opinions are as varied as the people who emit them.
I started with CTC in 2007 when Flexicrew didn't exist and I didn't blindly go into it. I did my research, I went to the bank first and asked them how much a junior FO earned and how much I would have after tax to budget with.
I then went to FO's themselves to corroborate this data, I spoke to guys in various phases of training about the options they were being offered and then decided to apply.
The market went ape**** after that and I finished my training in 2009 just after Flexicrew started, I had to wait a whole year to be offered a TR which I had to partly fund. (That was not a part of the original 2007 deal).
Once I got into Flexicrew I spent 8 months earning a flat £1200 per month, I wasn't allowed to book leave during these months. EasyJet started opening internal recruitment for FO's in Europe from their flexicrew pile and they asked for 500 hrs on type so there was a pressure to go and get the hours ASAP to be able to qualify for one of those employment runs.
The downside to this was that I went to work a couple of times feeling a bit worse than the point where I now, with a permanent contract, would call in sick.
After starting flexicrew proper, past 8 months on line, there was always a huge feeling of panic when the rosters came out and it wasn't past the magic number for your circumstances, I needed 70 hours per month to pay rent and all the rest. Every time rostering or crewing changed my roster to take hours away I got more pissed off and bitter with them.
Flying 900hrs per year, which I almost did during my first year is a job I never took lightly, I managed my sleep schedules to make sure I always arrived rested and all the other work/life balance sacrifices you make to perform properly but during all this time the overriding factor in my life was that I was **** scared of the 16th of the month when they would show me whether I would be able to afford living.
This stress is not healthy for someone operating a jet, it is not healthy for the skippers who fly with us when we're fatigued, stressed and sick yet we show up to work in order to not lose hours and pay.
I then transitioned into a permanent contract in Europe and I'm pretty sure I won't leave this airline for any other unless things change drastically, EZY is a proper career airline for some, myself included, you just have to jump through a lot of hoops before you get there.
To balance the argument, when I finished my training and CTC didn't offer any reassurances about how long we would have to wait in the pool, I sent hundreds of CV's to flight schools and small operators hoping to be able to get either a FI position or some sort of job where I could build some hours and there were none unless you went to botswana and gambled 3 months of your life camping there in order to get an interview.
Flexicrew is unhealthy for the industry, it alienates you from the company you work for and from the airline you operate in. It feels wrong for everyone but the higher ups who see the advantages in flexibility and lower wages for the first 8 months. However, it is the best way into an airline after training so I would do it again in a heartbeat.