I've had two former students that made it into their second officer program.
They'll be watching other people fly from the jumpseat for a long time.
From what I've heard their Tech interview is difficult.
Acquaintance who's a total geek and a lot smarter then me didn't make it through.
Cathay Pacific used to be on my list but no longer.
Truthfully not because of any changes there as I haven't followed what's going on but because my planning has changed.
What seems to be obvious though is that there is a lot more Internet forum noise on :
Cathay Pacific
Emirates