As an IRE I have watched on countless occasions in the simulator, experienced Boeing captains attempting to fly an ILS in a 15 knot crosswind on raw data hand flying. No AP, FD or AT. The majority fail an instrument rating because they seems helpless in their instrument scan under these conditions.
Thats why these days its not even a requirement anymore! No more failures, everyone happy...
So they say their pilots should use the autopilot in cruise. What do they say about manual flight in climb, approach and landing? What do other airlines say about manual flight in cruise?
Here I agree that the opening statement might be out of context. Also in my airline hand flying is allowed, but only up to and down from a certain flight level. I can see no reason why hand flying in cruise would be necessary/beneficial. Straight and level is just straight and level anyway.