I don't understand this Pay 2 Fly stuff.
At the end of the day, like it or not, type rating and line training are a part of training. Yes it would be better if the majority of the airlines paid for it... But it would also be better if airlines still paid for all of our training wouldn't it?!
If your intentions are to become an airline pilot then you are paying to fly from the moment you get a PPL in my opinion. You are paying for your training out of your own pocket. Nowadays airlines ask you to pay a training provider (them or an affiliated company) to train you to fly for them. Take Ryanair, yes the TR is expensive and some people are not even in a position to get a loan for it. But if you can afford it, you finish the TR and line training and get paid to work for an airline where you can earn an living and pay back your training loan.
This happens in other professions. My partner paid to go to university, then paid to do her PGCE to teach - this included costs of living in another city and working as a placement teacher with no salary. Only after paying for all her own degree and training over a period of 4 years was she in a position to be paid to work as a teacher - she now gets paid to go and teach but she pays her training loans off - is that a pay 2 teach scheme?
I have friends who became solicitors. They pay for their university fees. They also have to do an LPC course on top of their degree to get a job (10 grand). After that if they manage to get a job they only earn around 20k a year initially - and pay their training loans back through that wage. Pay 2 be a solicitor?
At the end of the day our industry is no different to any other. When a company can cut costs it will. Forcing potential employees to stump up their training costs is becoming more commonplace in most professions. The only difference is that out costs are substantially more than in other professions. It will never change now.
Even when BA started the future pilot programme you are still required to fund it.
I'm no rich kid with an axe to grind, or some bitter git. I have just finished my training, I am looking for a job and if I passed Ryanair selection for instance, I'm not 100% certain I could even get a TR loan for that sort of money. I just think these days this is the way it is and there's nothing we can do about it.