I was told the same - the lady said we could expect to hear by Friday 18th, but that was by no means a deadline. She also said - contrary to popular belief - that no news means no news. If you haven't heard anything back, it's because a decision hasn't been made yet - it does not mean you have been unsuccessful. She said everything is in Thomsonfly's hands and they let FTE know their decision as soon as they've made it - hence, there's no point constantly phoning and emailing to see whether you've been successful or not. And also, we can expect to hear either by phone or email, so it's worth checking both.
In summary(!), we'll most likely hear by Friday, but if we haven't, we're not to panic!
Happy waiting everyone...............