For most people in both Europe and the U.S., flying is either absolutely out
of reach (meaning that they cannot possibly afford it, no matter what
sacrifices are made), or practically out of reach (meaning that the sacrifices

That's just not true. Unless you are homeless and have no education,
its not such a big deal to at least learn to fly. I know a few teenage
kids at my local airport who earned their PPLs with just a part time
job at the FBO during the summers. It can be done and its actually a
cake if you have a college education. $5k or even $10k is not that
much in the grand scheme of things these days. That would be the cost
of a vacation trip to Europe for a family of 4.