Spam Can
this is not pay to fly.
The reason you have to go through the whole process is partly employment law trash, partly to see if the good guys who left have become axe murderes in the last 2 years and partly to see if the bad guys have got better. Kind of simplistic but that's the gist of it.
As for the package, I beg to differ.
I personally think this is a good deal for future joiners be they cadets or experienced bods but then I would say that, I was part of the CC that negotiated it.
Equally, someone commented on the £7K cost of the OCC being a crock, about 1/5th of that I think you quoted? Could you PM me a detailed breakdown of that coz I'd love to present it to the company?