Sounds like all this angst is about an unexpected consequence of datalink...thank god then that my current mount don't got it
We routinely load stars just after TOPC 8-11 hrs before arrival...and only rarely need to change the RWY and star transition.
It is not bad airmanship....bad airmanship would be not amending it if/when issued something different by ATC 200 miles out and then blindly following the majenta line.
Just because 1 crew in 1000s is so lacking in airmanship is no reason to dumb down the rest of us.
In some places, like Dubai, the star is not issued until virtually at TOPD...it seems to have escaped them that we are busy at that point in the flight...not to mention tired...or that a TOPD changes by 20-30nm depending on the runway/star combination. That little fact combined with, seemingly inevitable, speed control usually means we are flying nearly the entire descent with the speed brake out at DXB
I do accept that at DXB if the STAR was issued as far out as they do at somewhere like SY or LHR we would be on Muscat/Bahrain frequencies.
Experience shows that once you know what the wind is doing you generally know exactly what will follow. I am not a great fan of using RTE 2 for preloading alternative STAR transition/RWY because it requires temporarily going into HDG SEL while you sort out the correct TO waypoint and then re engaging LNAV...more button pushing when we may be less than on top of our game. When you RTE COPY, the entire route, from the point where you select RTE COPY, remains in the FMC rather than your next TO waypoint and the previous 'anchor' waypoint....meaning you could be searching through 4 or 5 LEGS pages to find the waypoint you were tracking to in RTE 1