The reason that most airlines have removed the circle is driven by one, safety and two economics. The circle takes up a lot of sim time that can better be used for other maneuvers and in the case of our Capt. 411A, it uses up a lot of fuel as well.
Not so sure about 411 comment regarding going to full flaps on base to final (if that's what I understood), as a best practice is to go to final flaps before you turn base, thus keeping the turn radius to a minimum.
What ever works
