hahaha....welcome Cathay mate..! To answer your questions:
1. Tough luck! If your mates join one day befor COS07, and you join one day after....you are S.O.L. You'll enjoy earning less than your mates for the rest of your career, never mind the other compromises it will introduce.
2. Your seniority is based on the day you start your course.
3. Why bother even showing up? Cathay has a sad history of undermining and disappointing it's aircrew. I won't bother to bore you about all the different issues that have caused most of us sleepless years (never mind 'nights').
4. I'm sorry you have 'worked towards your dream', only to have the dream become a nightmare...literally 'overnight'. That's aviation mate...and a sad fact of life. Join a company that will not leave you in constant frustration. No career is worth living with that.
