I would say it is a widespread view.
Just try and find the thread where it was first announced last year, lots of people were disgusted before it even materialized it was a paid for course!
I'm not sure what kind of image you are imagining life on the line will be like for the cadets but everyone from captains, cabin crew, TCO's, loaders etc that I have talked too werent too impressed that people can effectively buy their way up the career ladder.
The guys working at the exhibition were acting the way they were for their own career prospects and couldn't care less about the cadets.
As for saying the successful ones were fantastic for beating off 1000's of other applicants, do you really think all the other applicants had £119000 or a credit rating to get it? Obviously not, you are realistically talking 100ish people who can buy their way in.
But of course you can choose to live in blissful indebted ignorance and take loads of selfies in your uniform for your FB friends who will have assumed no money was exchanged during your hiring process and you earned the job on merit!
