I am at Eagle. Jumpseating other airlines I've seen many people hand fly up until cruise (the boring stuff) as well, including mainline. If it is required to use the autopilot then why is it allowed to be MELed? You are in no way required to use the autopilot. Infact, I encourage as many people as possible to not get lazy and use the autopilot for everything. Try and do some hand flying during the month. After all, the autopilot is just a machine and subject to failure. You better be able to fly that plane in the event it does.