Ok then, for the record....
Since inception, Astraeus has recruited and type rated 12 first officers and 3 Captains. Of the First Officers, 4 came through the PPRuNe Cadet Scheme, and , technically paid for their type ratings by operating on a much reduced salary for 6 months.
We have 9 first officers who came to us through paying for their own type rating and are on temporary contracts until the end of the summer season.
We have two first officers under training now who we are paying to type rate. One has worked for us in operations for 15 months, the other comes as a Qualified CRM Examiner. Both have demonstrated the level of talent for which we feel the investment of a type rating is justified. Both will pay back their type rating over a peroid of time by flying on a reduced salary.
Along the way we have also trained pilots for Eurocypria and Channel Express
Bond aviation is offering a service. Versions of the service are available from GECAT, Alteon (formerly FSB) and CTC.
Take it or leave it.
The rights and wrongs of paying for a type rating will be debated forever, and will be dictated by the level of supply and demand in the marketplace.