Samca - fair points risen there, they definitely prefer their own cadets to the OCC who are seen as a necasarry evil, the only reason for this is the cadets know nothing different than the ryr sops etc and don't revert to stuff that has been learnt at an other operator.
Avenger - 6000 Euro bond for 2 years. No deductions, nothing to pay back.
Dub or STN are the main upgrade training bases and you'll be required to do 100 hrs after getting signed off before going to your new base - as you're out of base you get an extra 20 eu an hour to cover expenses. It actually ends up being a very lucrative couple of months and for me covered the expense of relocating to my new base.
Ryr contracts are being given out at the moment as are Storm McGinley. Like everything, horses for courses, some prefer to stay self employed and others like to take a contract.