Chief Willy, you seem to suggest flybe pilot's live on crew food scraps and in cardboard shelters or in their cars? Whilst any first job post ab-initio trg is tight in terms of cash, I don't recall being penniless. I was always able to rent decent accommodation that never broke the bank, had its own private secure car park etc, with no help from the parents.
In terms of repayments, I started on £23000 and today's new FO starts on £28000. For part sponsored (those with the BE loan) there is an optional 2 year payment holiday to ease the out goings whilst getting settled in life. A 5 year bond adds to security ( the board wants the money back in terms of their pound of flesh by working you). With an ever increasing jet fleet, the time spent on the splash is getting shorter, currently 4 years on average and reducing. Time to command? Well for those who joined as the doors closed in 2008, several are now either going through command courses, or are waiting for the start date to arrive. Currently 4 to 5 years.
Living costs? Well with only 3 bases in the south, the chances are you will be somewhere 'north of the river' where living costs and rent are a lot less than the ol' smoke. Having worked at LGW in the past, the money away from London goes a lot further.
Repaying initial capital outlay? I'm currently on £49000, paid back the Loan, saved a deposit and have a mortgage. Command course starts pronto, not even 30 years old. True, no shiny airbus, but certainly a great grounding on the dash for my career. I actually got to fly it as well. (unlike FBW'd busses) That's why I wanted to be a pilot, to fly. Current commercial plan hints that my time back on the dash could be very limited, due to rate of fleet replacement.
Being looked after interms of accommodation, transport (HOTAC) and a meal allowance during initial TR, as well as not paying a penny for the TR is a huge help.
Roster stability? Your roster here is a greater work of fiction than even Shakespeare could put together for a famous tragedy.
Not sure what the loan amount is other than several F/Os in base having one, but a standard bond for a TR is 13,500 reducing over 3 years from FLC. Most of the ex-cadets seem happy with their choices, given just how competitive the jobs market is right now. In a few years time, they will either be on a jet, going for command, or heading off somewhere else to work ( market conditions not withstanding) that said we a seeing pilots head into the arabian sunset. It would appear that certain airlines realise that an airbus is a pile of tosh to fly compared with the 'do it yourself, coz the airplane sure can't' Dash. And that turbo-prop pilots can indeed fly jets. We certainly prove that by converting pilots on to our FBW jet fleet.
Congrats on the FPP course. It certainly does seem very nice. But please don't rubbish airlines that have continued to hire ab initios and offer courses when none of the other big boys wanted to do their part. No one here is poor, it certainly is tough in those first couple of years, I'm sure living around London on a FPP scale won't be awfully easy either. But after the hard bit, it does get better.
And yes dooooo wait and get on an airline scheme! So many people have completed training with no hope of a job in the future due to the market conditions.