And just to add to the point about manual flying , BA doesn’t discourage it, but like the fuel thing , consider the variables on the day , ask the other person if they’re ok with it .
Can’t take out the Autothrust (at least on 320 fleet) so it’s not really fully “manual” flying but you can certainly do visual approaches etc. as long as you’re sensible and your colleague isn’t on sector 4 and hanging !