cptdivz, I'm not sure your question has really been answered so far; I will try to do so.
BA define starting and finishing salaries for cadets, first officers and captains. Obviously they are higher for captains than FOs, and higher for FOs than cadets. They are also slightly higher for 'medium' and long haul than for short haul.
A new pilot starts on the bottom of the appropriate scale, and moves up one step every year.
If you get promoted from cadet to FO (in year five I believe) or from FO to captain you simply move across onto the appropriate scale from that point.
In the past, it took 24 years to reach the top of the scale where you remained until you retired (known as 24pp).
The recent changes mean new joiners will instead take 34 years to reach the top of the salary scale (34pp) - but once they do get there they will receive the same amount.
Confusingly, the pension scheme for new joiners has not changed and pension contributions from both employee and employer will still be based on the old 24 year scale.
The entire salary scale structure increases each year to reflect inflation.
In addition to the salary and pension, there are flying allowances worth something like £9000 per year which are only taxed at 20%.
It's inappropriate to give any specific figures here, but I understand that the pay scales are available from the BALPA website if you are a member. Personally I think the salaries are pretty decent and would probably compare favourably to any other European airline.
Cadets on the FPP scheme pay in instalments for their frozen ATPL training, at the usual package rate, to their chosen flight school. They are able to borrow the money through a BA-backed loan scheme if necessary.
Type rating IS included in the package though I am not certain whether it is the flight school or BA that are providing it.
The cadet is also responsible for test fees and most general living costs throughout training although basic accommodation and some food is included.
Once qualified and gainfully employed, they start on the cadet pay scale. In addition to salary and allowances they will receive a further tax-free 'repayment' equal to 1/7 of the training package cost per year for the first seven years.
If you add it all together, you can see that in fact the FPP cadets will be taking home pretty much the same money as the direct entry pilots albeit in a more tax efficient manner.
Clearly, most cadets will need the repayments to repay the money they borrowed in the first place. Thus they are in a very similar position to a self-sponsored direct entry pilot but with two major advantages - a free type rating and a job awaiting them at the end of their training.
So is the 34pp scale fair? I don't really see how any particular package can be considered 'unfair' to staff who have not yet joined the company. No one already working at BA has lost out and it's really up to you to decide if you accept the terms offered or not if you wish to join.
It is rather inelegant though. There will be a significant discrepancy between pilots joining before and after the cut-off date, which will get worse with time. After 24 years, some pilots with very slightly less seniority than their colleagues will be paid only 70% as much (basic salary - the pension and allowances will be the same) and won't catch up for another 10 years.
But will either the 24pp or 34pp scales will still be with us in this form in twenty years time? I suspect not - there will be plenty more tinkering and changes before the situation above actually occurs.
I hope that is all clear and accurate.