Originally Posted by
bobdxb
Yeah, I have flown with few Capt's also who would fly above the storm rather than around....
Climbing 38,000' doesn't necessarily mean they wanted to fly above the storm. I can think of lots of reasons for the climb:
1) turbulence at lower levels
2) more fuel efficient altitude
3) better visual reference to maneuver around the weather
Maybe it was a combination of all three.