I have been having a good read on this thread. I have recently completed my Type rating with Bond aviation, my base training is coming up on the 16th September, 6 weeks after I completed my LST. I too was not happy about paying for my type rating although I am not paying for the line training part of the course, I am hoping to impress enough to get a contract for the line training.
Hamrah spoke of a few Pilots on contract with Astraeus of which I know two, both are ex instructors and both recently completed the type rating course. They are both having a great time flying to destinations that are interesting and different. As far as I know they are not getting paid a proper salary but are doing it even after paying for the type rating because it just makes sense.
Astraeus seem a good company to work for, the crew are friendly and I found them very professional. And all the crew I spoke to in the crew room during the training were very happy there.
Now, I did well on the ground school and even got a recommendation from the Captain who did my LST. After sending out numerous cv's I still have not heard anything from the airlines out there. It is a big decsion to make whether to pay for a type rating or not, but out of 900 or so FATPL's I would rather move to the top of that list. And as the market is about to pick up (according to the postings) I hope this type rating will pay off.
I am fortunate enough to have some money tucked away so the money for the type rating was not too much of a hassle, but I would recommend it to anybody who has good contacts in the industry and has a bit of extra cash lying around. The only choice is "is it Airbus or Boeing?".
I found Bond Aviation very professional.
Sorry but give credit where credit is due!
