On a recent LAX-SYD flight on Air New Zealand (before the UA story broke), as we were beginning the landing, the purser commented that this would be a "hands on" rather than an instrument landing, because the pilot needed to do a hands-on to keep his ratings. So I guess not only is there the fact that they don't fly that often, but also that even when they do fly, the landings can be instrument. And the most experienced pilots nearing retirement are the ones who get the 747s. Historically, pay was based on the weight of the plane, because the bigger planes 50 years ago were more difficult to fly, so today the 747s get more $$$ than the 737s, even tho the big planes are easier to fly than some of the smaller ones. In the past few years, United has begun paying the 767 pilots the same as the 747s rather than having to keep training 767 pilots to take over the 747 for a year or two prior to retirement. And if you listen to the pilots, altho the money is great for the 747s, they also talk about the exhaustion. Even tho the flight may be boring and on autopilot, their mental sharpness is gone after 12-14 hours in the air and it's hard to perk up and be bright for the landing. i don't think many of us can claim to come off those flights razor sharp! And I've rarely seen ANZ crew come out of the cockpit area to "visit", so the putting it on autopilot to go visit is not really correct.