Is it a reduced salary for cadets who make it compared with say a first officer who funded their own training and employed with Virgin? just curious.
@j.charles: The answer is that, yes, it is a significantly reduced salary compared to a direct entry first officer, less than half as has already been stated. However, the latter requires 3,000 hrs total time, a Boeing or Airbus type rating and 1,000 hrs on type. You could fund your own training, including potentially the type rating, get those hours at a short haul carrier, then apply for direct entry. Depending on how long it takes you to (a) get the fATPL, MCC/JOC & TR (b) get that elusive first job, then build those hours, and (c) successfully compete for a DEP job at Virgin, that might reasonably take 5-10 years or more, assuming all those things happen.
Via the MPL route, you are virtually guaranteed a job after just under two years, provided you meet the performance standards etc, and would be at the same point as the DEP 9 years from now. Between now and then you may or may not earn less (depending on where you get those 3,000 hours), but keep in mind that the repayment of the bond is not likely something you'd get via the other route. In other words, you should compare the ~27k salary PLUS the 15.5k annual security bond repayment with the alternatives. (In fact, it's worth a bit more than a 42.5k salary because the bond repayment is tax free for both you and the employer but that's a different discussion).
I'd offer the opinion that this FFP or the BA FPP are actually superb deals for the few who make it through, despite some of the negative comments that have previously been made. There are costs and risks, including those related to rising interest rates, but they also exist with the alternatives. There are other considerations as well, such as the type of flying and the working environment.
Looking at it another way: given all that, if you got through all selection stages and had a VA MPL offer in hand would you really decide to abandon that in favour of the self funded route based on salary considerations? I wouldn't.