There is some confusion, I feel, creeping into airline philosophies. I can understand that FLT Ops want to maximise saftey, and they believe the autos can do a very safe job if SOP's are followed. The reliability speaks for it self. SOP's also help the pilot who is nervous about making his own decisions about whether to go visual, self position etc. or not. The criterea are written down and if you screw it up you are on your own; so stay inside the SOP nest. What I find odd is an airline that advocates keeping the flying skills active by flying SID's & Climb outs. This is at constant power, few config changes and just following the FD. This is not honing flying skills. Some suggest that a visual approach can be useful in time/fuel saving, but use the automatics to fly it. How does the last 500' hand flying hone your skills? A hand flown visual approach with all the config changes, and MK.1 eyeball descent path until intecepting whatever aids are provided, will do far more to keep skills honed than the departure profiles ever will. Yet this is discouraged. We have progressed backwards in the last 15 years in the search of saftey. It will work until something goes wrong and the crews can not handle it. Then there will be a re-think. Will it be too late then? There are destinations, e.g. Samos, Calvi (circle north Rwy) SZB(circle north Rwy), CFU(south Rwy) where basic low level piloting skills are required, and sometimes at night or minimum weather. Was it not the case that all Cathay captains had to fly the approach into Kai Tak. Some did not pass this filter of hand flying. What would it be like today, I wonder.
But again, it will take a mishandled accident to awaken everyone and cause a re-think. Simulator time is being reduced (costs), keep approaches simple via SOP's on the line, (safety & costs), Airports more busy so ATC is flying the a/c, (congestion). The opportunity to reverse the process is not always there, nor the will from upstairs. Their question is always "Why?". Our reply is the "what if.......". Theirs is "it is unlikely to happen". And so the discussion keeps going round in circles. It needs C.P's. piloting skills attitude to inject the culture into an airline. To change it across the industry is nigh impossible.