wasbones tcas we are taught shows relative travel direction, not actual.
afaik we all use it for sa and because pilots dont have the whole picture, im not surprised you get some requests that appear odd to you.
and without having a reference to hand, i thought we needed an operational reqmnt to justfy asking for a non std lvl? any mention of that yet?
found this
cutnpaste frm jepp
3.3.2.1 Pilots must only request a level not conforming to the table of cruising levels when it is determined by the pilot in command to be essential to the safety of the flight and its occupants. In such circumstances, the phrase “DUE OPERATIONAL REQUIREMENT” must be included with the level change request. 3.3.3 ATC will only assign cruising levels not conforming to these tables when traffic or other operational circumstances require.
and didnt this relatively recent amendment come about because of a near hit over darwin or somewhere?