Meh. I don't have much of a problem with this program, mostly because I know that most people, myself included, would have taken advantage of something like this if it existed 16 years ago. I paid $80,000 in the early 2000s for my commercial, CFIs, etc. According to the Google, that's about $110,000 in today's money. Sure, I instructed, then went to a regional and paid my dues for way way way too long, and I finally got here.

If I could have paid like $90,000 (in 2003 money) and gotten on at a company like JetBlue in 2006 or 2007 instead of 2018...do the math, that would have increased my lifetime earnings by a metric #*#* ton of money.

I guess my point is, don't fault a guy for taking advantage of programs that exist now that didn't exist when we were brand new. The industry has changed, and they are simply doing what is best for their careers. It's unfair to expect someone to cost themselves seniority and lifetime earnings simply because we had to struggle more, and we feel like they should have to struggle too. Life ain't fair.