From someone who has trained with and now instructs at a great local flight school and who has also trained with ATP, here is my two cents:
If time is critical to you... i.e., getting into the cockpit of an RJ as fast as you can, then ATP is probably your best bet. The climate is good for up and coming pilots right now. For someone looking to make a career in the airlines, I would say do what you need to do to get in the right seat as quick as you can so that you can ride the front of the hiring wave and be protected from furloughs in the future.
That being said, there is no right or wrong answer as to which route you should take. Is ATP expensive? Absolutely. Can you do it for less? Absolutely. But that isn't what the company model is about and you need to know that going in. You are paying for the speed of the program and the fact that they will hire you and you will instruct for them, gain a lot of multi-time, and get to the regionals fast. If it is worth it to get there faster, then go for it.... If not, then go the FBO route.
In terms of the quality of training, don't listen to people that haven't attented the program (or even some that have but didn't put the effort in and failed as a result). Training is fully dependant on two things: Your own work ethic and the effort of your instructor. There are bad instructors everywhere.... local FBO's and ATP included. That doesn't mean every ATP instructor only cares about getting to 1500 and as a result provides poor instruction. I have read all the horror stories about ATP... "they only train to pass a checkride; you'll get no ground instruction etc etc etc..." I attended ATP at the Richmond, VA location and finished the career program in 10/2013 (self-paced). I honestly believe I couldn't have received better instruction. My instructor went way out of his way to provide a lot of ground instruction, both individual and in a class settings. The other two instructors at the RIC location do the same. I have a full blog detailing my experience on JC if you want a day-to-day (
New ATP Student KRIC/Running Experience... | Jetcareers). If you want insight into the program, it would be a good resource. The instructor I had for my private in 2010 at my local FBO is also very good... But I believe the instruction I received at ATP was better. As a result, I had zero checkride failures. Also, take into consideration that I did my CFI initial with an FAA Inspector, not a DPE. CFI Initials with the FAA run about a 70-80% failure rate. I was prepared because of my hard work ethic and because I had a great instructor.
Will this be the case with all ATP instructors? Of course not. There are instructors within ATP who won't do as good of a job. But remember, you are the customer. If you are having a issue with the instruction you are receiving, immediately request a change in instructors. You're paying a lot of money for this (either way you do it). If its not working, fix it. Same goes for any FBO/small flight school.
I'm not cheerleading for ATP... I do not instruct for them. I instruct for a large flight school in Northern Virginia and make pretty good money here. It is a great 141 school with several university programs. Instructing for ATP after you complete the program will get you hours at a good rate (depending on your assigned location), but you will make poverty wages. I would look for a company that has high volume business but pays a decent wage once you have your CFI ratings. If you can't find one that works for you, then you have ATP (if you choose to go through ATP).
Bottom line is that you have to figure out what is best for you. But don't let anyone talk you into or out of either scenario. Neither are wrong. You have to decide which is better for you. Hopefully this helps a bit. Either way... DO IT if its your dream. I'm two months away from the airlines and can't wait! Good Luck.
Mike