From what i remember, the first thing they tackled was the rumor that they only need 12. They said they are selecting people for future batches, BUT that they also need to complete November's batch. Therefor, the cream of the crop from these last assessments will be put in November's batch. The rest will recive a "thanks, but no thanks", or a "thanks you are being considered". The ones who received the latter will have to travel to Abu Dhabi for more tests and the whole trip would be paid by the company. So, summing up, 3 groups:
A few joining in November.
The ones going for future courses.
The ones who should forget about Etihad (for now).
They never said any numbers. He repeated that consistently, and the only clue he let out was that chances are 1 to 10, and that from 6000 applications they have considered 1000 people for stage one worldwide. So, doing some rough and irresponsibly unrealistic math we could look at the number 100. Some of them to complete Nov's batch, some others to start joining ab next year. The examiner also said that the ones joining in November will receive news before the rest. The others will not hear anything apart from the "no" or the "maybe" email until they finish all assessments worldwide. And that could be a 2 month wait.
There was one more thing that he cleared out. The age limitation was there for the moment you applied. So, if u were 26 by they time you went to stage one, and then you turn 27 but they have already called you, that would be no problem. The only event that would get you out of the program is if you obtain a license before the time they re-contact you. So everybody out there finishing their ATPLs or CPLs, it is time for some real planning. I already decided not to do my ATPL exams in November. That way i have more time to study, and to hear about them. I also let my medical 1 expire (don't wanna spend 200euros), hehe.
And ONE last thing. For those of you thinking ahead, worried about the fact of obtaining a non JAR license. Cause after all, then you would have 2 bonds with the company. The 6 year bond for the payment, and the license bond by which you could only operate in a UAE company. Well, he said that Horizon Flight Academy is about to obtain JAR approval, so we would all have JAA licenses and no need to sit more CAA or GCAA exams should we ever consider coming back to good ol' Europe.