Captain Jim,
If your friends did not receive a rejection email then their applications remain active. Obviously, rated pilots will always take precedence followed by non rated so should there be a steady stream of rated applicants, as apparently there is from Qatar, then non rated will ultimately be delayed.
I don't think any Airline will guarantee you a time to command. There are too many external and internal factors which could affect that time.
There is no need to chase up an application.
Last edited by Severely Jetlagged; 27th Oct 2011 at 03:48.