Every unemployed pilot in India will apply if AI (or any other airline for that matter) came out with an Ad tomorrow.
While I am not sure if people already employed in other airlines would like to jump ship and join AI under the current circumstances but if they were given an opportunity couple of years ago they would have joined AI without the slightest bit of hesitation. Having said that I heard that when AI recently came out with an Ad. for A320 capts and F/Os with hrs on type they got about 200 applications.
This non-payment of salaries has never happened before at AI. in 2008-09 other Pvt. airline employees also went through these hard times which the AI employees are currently going through.
I don't think most of us here can really talk about the standards of training, safety etc. compared to other airlines as most of us on the forum are either unemployed or its our first job so you really can't draw comparisons unless some one has flown both at AI and another Pvt airline in India.
About the management n all.. well we keep reading enough about it almost everyday in the papers. Management pilots kids getting preference etc.. Well I don't think this happens only in AI it happens in every airline in India. Look at KF for example they openly upgrade captains kids, relatives etc. ahead of their seniors. I know someone who started flying the 320 at KF in 2009 when training for ab-initios was stopped and this happened because his dad was a Sr.check pilot and was very close to the then VP of training. This is just one case I am mentioning there are a whole lot of similar cases. But AI being a govt owned company we do not expect such nepotism to take place and its unfortunate and I hope there is more transparency in the future.