a330jokey:
On the A330, I used to let the autopilot fly the airplane down to about 300' before disconnecting. The autopilot is fantastic on that airplane! A copilot was making an approach in bumpy and crosswind conditions one day and he disconnected the autopilot about 6 miles out and hand flew the approach. I suggested he reconnect the autopilot and let it do the job. He continued hand flying and fought the airplane the whole way while I jumped nervously in my seat. After we landed and slowed down, he said next time he will use the autopilot!!
I'm not surprised with that quote, but would totally disagree.
The best way to land an A330 in difficult/crosswind conditions is to
disconnect the AP and the ATHR and fly the bird with minimum stick and power changes.
At 300', in very poor conditions, the pilot has no time to "feel" the weather, nor the reactions of the aircraft. The best way to get a grip to what's going on (especially after a long-haul night flight) is to start working out the landing, as soon as we have visual contact, and while mistakes are still manageable.
Also, if one disconnects the AP at 300', one looses a great opportunity to gain experience on how to hand-fly the aircraft in bad weather...
No wonder pilots are loosing their skills. The more they rely on AP, the less they feel comfortable to take control, when things go wrong.