Cheers APU FIRE - that was exactly the sort of reply I was hoping to invoke.
I've applied to BA a few times in the past and actually got dropped at the final stage once (poor interview), but I've always been wary of applying to part-sponsorhip schemes because I hate borrowing money.
Having recently got my PPL under my own finance, my opinions have changed somewhat and think that a part-sponsorhip needn't leave me with less money over, say, a five year period than a full-sponsorhip would. Like you say, perhaps even more.
So I'm waiting for my Buzz/Cabair application form like everyone else at the moment! Instructing for a period before airline flying - I think - would be much more rewarding.
But full-self-finance is still not an option in my mind at the minute!