Fuel
Dear All,
It would be interesting to study the fuel policy of the airline involved. For most companies, the fuel cost is one of the highest expenditure and one which is controlled and monitored strictly.
Depending on how much of extra fuel he had onboard to complete the flight , it would have influenced the captain decision on how far to deviate laterally and the decision to climb. A cruise speed so low ( well below the severe turbulence speed), a request to climb and a lesser deviation may have been fuel saving measures.
Their final destination, Singapore, has unpredictable weather/traffic which results in ATC delays , holding , go arounds etc. This would have been on the mind of the captain.
Over the years I've seen the fuel figure required for the same destination reduce. ( ie less extra fuel). Weather forecasts which are not accurate can catch any pilot unaware leaving a lesser number of options to choose from. Using experience most of us pilots know when to uplift extra fuel. But how many times have we been caught off guard and wished we had uplifted that extra 500kg/1000kg or even 100kg
As a senior captain once mentioned, "fuel in the tank is like money in the bank"