Even if I had £65,000, which I don't, I would rather pay for an integrated course at another school, preferably one in the sun with accommodation included, or I'd pay £35,000 for modular plus FI(R) rating and, even if I couldn't get a job for a while, I'd still have £30,000 which would last me a while in living expenses.
Being unemployed for a while would damage my pride less than giving in and paying way over the odds for an ATPL at OATS. 2 reasons:
1. I do not want to swell OATS' coffers with even a penny of my money (they did manage to squeeze a bit out of me for the British Midland selection procedure - but that's it!)
2. If I did succumb, I'd feel like I was perpetuating the problem for future wannabes. People have repetitively said that airlines will not pay anything for pilots as long as we are daft enough to pay for it ourselves. The same goes for OATS - if they keep putting up the price and we keep paying it, then it'll just get worse!
TB