I've done a fair bit of international commuting and have always
noticed the pilots getting dropped close to the airport approximately
45 min or 1 hour prior to takeoff, whereon they simply embark the
plane and get down to business in the cockpit. I've not till date seen
even one pilot actually do a walkaround!

Do commercial passenger airlines have someone other than the pilot
perform the walkaround of the aircraft, if at all? And how important
is the walkaround in commercial jets? I remember reading the accident
investigation report of an Aeroperu 737 crash where it was suggested
that a walkaround may have helped detect the piece of duct tape that
was plastered in the wrong place, blocking the static port...

Ramapriya