My experience with 9W was that the flight crew were most enjoyable company. They were much more inclusive than other airlines that I have had the pleasure to operate in. Within their training department they had some excellent instructors, arguably one or two of the best I have ever encountered. A curiosity was that the best were almost invariably Zoroastrians. The operation had its issues, but it was certainly cleaner than some others flopping around the world in big twins and other types. Occasionally, I still get to the Plough on a visit to blighty, and there are friendly faces there.
Unions protecting their own turf is part of their task, they would be remiss to not do so, but the pace of development of the airlines challenge many countries in manning the fleets that are needed.
I was aware of the stories of P-51 qualifications when I started, but I never operated with any crew that raised concerns. More recent reports from the region raise eyebrows. However, having observed the IDGCA in a period where the US had downgraded the country to Cat 2 status, I was impressed with the tolerance of the FAA and the US DoS. IDGCA Delhi was an eye opener of a visit, much moreso than CAAC was. The takeaway observation was infrastructure development in India and China is occurring in spite of the regulatory oversight, and the input by the respective governments into that part of the industry as a strategic component of their future.