When there is a shortage of crews, airlines tend to have to maximize utilization. The rules here are 35/7, 120/month, 1000/year. Expats are flown hard because most take the rotating leave and never have to worry about the 1000/yr rule. If AI express or anyone else is short, you will most definitely fly 5-6 days a week. You can expect to fly the maximum number of hours in a week or month. We did that at Spicejet a year or so ago when there was a shortage. We don't have that problem anymore, and average 60 hrs/month.
When you are flying the max you will find yourself increasingly fatigued. You almost have to take your breaks just to recover. You will feel like a robot coming/going to work. Similar to the movie ground hog day, except a lot less amusing! We had a few F/O's at Spicejet who went to AI express on deputation (TDY). They were not too happy about the rostering and a few decided to come back because they were being rostered for illegal assignments (in their opinion).