I'll answer this one the best I can. Is the saab harder? Maybe I guess what is hard. Either plane is most likely going to be new but both are very manageable. The CRJs are much more automated and definitely have a lot less lights to understand what they mean but I did not think the saab was that bad. Mesaba has an excellent training department which is there to get everyone to succeed, not to weed out people. Will they let go people have trouble, yes, but this can happen on all fleets. Overall, its the work hard and you will do fine. There have been numerous people pass the training program in the past year so if you get hired, you should make it through just like the majority of other people.

One big thing for the saab at least, do not try to work ahead of schedule and try to know stuff before you get to class. The people who do this usually do worse. They will teach you everything you need to know and in a manageable fashion. I see people on here studying the FOM before even attending class. I guess if you want to freak yourself out before class thats cool but just relax, the training department will take care of everything.