Oh come on people, we all pay for a type rating in some way or other.
Providing you have a job at the end of it, what's the difference between taking out a £25000 loan and paying it off at £500 per month, and taking a reduction in your take home salary of £500 per month in a bond??
The key issue is having the job at the end, as far as I know no-one offering a type-rating course, independent of airlines, guarantees a job.
We all know that and we should make our personal decisions accordingly. If you can afford to go down to the local casino and gamble £23000 and not worry, then buy a 737 type-rating, it'll probably be more fun.
IMHO, airlines are courting work force instability by employing pilots that can up-sticks whenever they want. When there's a bond (like the fact or not) there's a modicum of stability in the pilot work force, but then again I don't run an airline so what would I know.
