I left Air India after 6 months as a 777 FO because of my concerns about the lack of basic (international) airline safety standards. While some things you can deal with the whole picture made me take a hard look if this was a company I wanted on my resume.
1. The almost zero CRM
2. Constant smoking in the cockpit
3. Cockpit door kept unlocked for all (welcomed or other) to enter the flight deck
4. Briefings at dispatch conducted in Hindi
5. Failure to brief the departure or approach while on the flight deck
6. Continued confusion as to who is the PF and the PM
- Cmdr seems to want to do everything and not include the FO, in ANY of the operational functions of the aeroplane
7. Hotel accommodation in Delhi, The Ashok Hotel:
- there is no air conditioning. There is a "fan" system only.
- the fridge in the room does not work 99% of the time
- sometimes there is hot water available, sometimes not
- food quality is very (hygienically) poor leaving many with "stomach problems" time after time when staying there.
8. Contractual terms between AI and the hosting hotels change without ANY notification to the crew from AI or the hotel concerned.
The other piece of the puzzel really depends on two main things...
1. Capt or FO? As a Capt you are obviously more of a commodity and get more of a say in your schedule. Most CAPTs are on a 7 on/6 off (days) schedule versus FOs on 6 on/2 off (wks). As a CAPT most flights tend to be JFK-DEL/BOM and as a rule of thumb expect to be the cruise relief to a 40 something Indian Capt despite what experience you bring to the table. Expat FOs are also primarily used in the cruise relief position. Also there must be an Indian on the crew so any 2 man operations won't be with another expat.
2. Do you live in/near an Air India destination (JKF, ORD, LHR, BHX)? Air India only pays to get you from one of their destinations to the plane, so if you live off line the commute is on your own dime/time. Most of the guys that are happy live in the NYC/BOS/DC area so when they land they are home.
So for me the cultural and company issues drove me on to a professional airline.
As always I am happy to put guys in touch with current AI expat Capt/FOs
MF