Let me just clarify this from someone who has plenty of experience with these shysters.
I have an A320 rating with no hours on type. Worst decision I ever made over 3 years ago.
I made a mistake and have since refused to take the line training route. At one point I saved up 20K and in desperation was considering it but literally the price went from 20K to 45K
OVERNIGHT, final straw for me and have never looked back.
I used my cash to support me through a
paying parachute job, and now I fly RHS in a twin otter, type paid for, salary from day one and in a couple of months i'll pass 1000TT. In a few years I'll hopefully have the 2000tt that mean i can start knocking on the door of a good airline like Monarch.
For comparison,
4 friends who did the line training, which is allegedly supposed to take 6-7 months.
18 months later none are finished.
3 are in Turkey, they hate it, the airline treats them like
and they fly with some dodgy old military captains who on one occasion didn't recognize the plane was overspeeding, the FO had to take control.
1 is in Congo, he seems to be enjoying it but seriously, fancy paying someone 50k to move to the Congo?
I don't have any A320 hrs but long term I know I'm better off than the lot of them, I hope my experience sheds some light for you.