Just finished first trip of OE on the Saab. It's a sweatbox, but a very solid airplane. Autopilot makes life sooooo much easier, and landings are a cinch as long as you remember to slow down early. FMS is easy once you get the hang of it; we had no training on it at all in MSP. The 2 FAs I've flown with seem to be very sharp and are fun to work with. One more day of OE tomorrow and then the signoff and moving days begin. Staffing bid results should be posted sometime tonight, so I will see if I am going to end up in FLL or somewhere else in FL. My seniority guarantees me one of the FL bases, just a question of which one.

As far as training, systems was a piece of cake, oral was done in about 40 minutes, sims were very straightforward and the check ride was a breeze. I remember how much they grilled everyone when I came through initial for the 1900 3 years ago, and this was a night and day difference. Still learned everything I needed to know, just seemed like it was much less painful this time around. Maybe this is a symptom of our new management - the kinder, gentler airline? Or maybe the airplane is that much easier to learn?