How often does an airline pilot use the rudder pedals during flight?
Transport category aircraft have a yaw damper that will maintain coordinated flight when the aircraft is in the air unless the flying pilot overrides it with the rudder. It operates even if the autopilot is not in use. The usual procedure is that you take your feet off the rudder pedals as soon as you have lifted off and don't put them back on the rudder pedals until on short final.

The pilot will possibly use the rudder shortly before or going into the landing flare to slip into a crosswind and/or to align the aircraft with the runway if they were flying a crabbed final. However, with most if not all transport category there's nothing wrong with touching down in a crab correctly being flown to correct for a crosswind if desired.

So whether a short range light or a long haul flight, the amount of time in the air that the pilot needs their feet on the rudder pedals is minimal and is in seconds, at most a minute or so.

An exception, of course, is if there is an engine failure, in which case the pilot will use the rudder to counteract the adverse yaw from the asymmetrical thrust.