For the 777 FOs Air India could not get the experience they were looking for at the price they were paying. Of the initial 16 FOs all of us purchased a self funded 777 rating; Rishworth negotiated for Air India/DGCA to take us with zero time on type.

Most of the guys+gal came from BE1900 or Metro's so it was a gamble that worked out. In exchange for the poor conditions they will get widebody/jet time and move onto other jobs. However, despite what Rishworth may say, Air India has no plans to move expats FOs to 777 Captains (and rightfully so since there are local FOs with 4 years/3000+ hours on type that have not upgraded).

Bit of history: on 1 Jun 08, the DGCA decided to have all expat FOs removed from the country. Up until a few days prior to 1 June we were to be terminated. There was another batch of 8 self funded 777 ratings (4 complete/4 in training) that were told to go get their old jobs back! The DGCA timeline is now shifted to Jun 2010 (I believe) and only a handful of the previous 2nd batch of 8 are now going to Air India.

My advice is buyer beware with Air India, the DGCA, and Rishworth for that matter. Upon terminating my contract (for documented breaches of contract, safety, and legal concerns) both Air India and Rishworth refuse to pay not only outstanding wages, but also visa fees and airline ticket fees from my initial start with Air India.