Trouble finding SMD 74HC279

It looks like discrete SR latches are rarely used (I've never ever used one in
any circuit I've built), yet they feature heavily in tutorials on logic gates!

DQ-flip-flops are much more useful in practice, and if you want a SR-latch a
pair of NORs or NANDs can be used anyway (this I have done), usually you'll
have a few spare such gates knocking around - so I can see why SR-latches
aren't commonly employed.