Hi there,
It depends on the status of the hold pool. When (if) the 787 arrives along with the rest of the A320's there will be a requirement for more pilots due to fleet expansion and the likely introduction of new routes. These positions will be filled by 'Yes Letter' candidates in the hold pool. If there are still vacancies, then one would assume that they interview and hire.
As for the amount of people in the hold pool, I have no idea so I can't help you there sorry.
The other thing to remember is the expansion in Mt Cook that we'll see over the next few years with up to 12 -600 ATR's arriving to be based in Auckland. Recruitment-wise what this means is that (because of Recruit-to-Group) the Regional airlines together will be hiring fairly steadily in coming years.
I was speaking with a mainline AirNZ pilot involved with recruitment and they said that in years past, it wasn't uncommon for the Link carriers to (collectively) hire 5-6 people per year. In 2012 alone they're looking at employing 80+. I guess that puts things into perspective.
So to answer your question - it depends on the amount of people in the hold pool and whether or not AirNZ exercise their options on aircraft they've ordered.
scanman24