The biggest reason for such a long wait on the 200 for IOE is quite simple... AIRPLANES. Mesaba started hiring furiously last spring and started staffing the 200 appropriately ahead of the game. Then the 200s were delayed. Then there was that paperwork snafuu. All the while people were still entering training. Add to this LCAs were leaving for other airlines and poof, you've got a training backlog. Now that more 200s are on the property and continue to be delivered, as the fleet grows the training backlog will diminish. It's a simple matter of numbers. Only so many people can be flying at any given time.