There is such nonsense being written here by people who never had to make hard decisions. I am one of those who was in the right place at the right time and got a job by applying for it, getting a bond and then being paid to work. We all know that p2f is immoral and outrageous. The problem is that the system exists and for many people this is the only way into aviation. The root of all this lies in the infinite supply of young people desperate to be airline pilots and who will take any loan, at virtually any interest rate and do anything to get that job. This is supply and demand in action - as long as that infinite supply exists you will have this problem.
You can see in China where there is a desperate shortage of A320 Captains, they will pay a fortune to get a western guy to sign up - again supply and demand in action. The problem is that even though Chinese airlines want these people, their own country wants to do everything possible to stop them coming so they produce crazy medical rules to prevent the very captains they need working there - classic communist, command economy activities getting in the way of good old capitalist supply and demand.
The only real solution is for national civil aviation regulation to prevent p2f. If the UK CAA are anything to go by, then we should not be holding our breath.
Last edited by Alexander de Meerkat; 29th Dec 2013 at 02:24.
Reason: Typo