Question about ALTRAVs
This question is for some ATC professional or the tanker pilots out there who work with ALTRAVS all the time.
My understanding of an ALTRAV is that it is basically a reserved block of airspace, typically used for large formations of aircraft, in this instance a KC-10 with a flight of Hornets on the wing (a Cornet North mission with altitudes 250B270)
My question results from a call from Oakland Center yesterday for a deviation from our planned course for traffic around Sacramento on our way back to Lemoore. Now if it makes a difference, we had already departed the tanker, but the Hornets remained on the ALTRAV while the tanker climbed above the block altitude and continued on as a single to a different destination.
The question from all of this is: Isn't it strange to give a flight of 6 a deviation for traffic when flying on an ALTRAV flight plan? It seems that the traffic wouldn't be in our block of airspace, couldn't we have climbed or descended to the top or bottom of our block, and finally, isn't it easier to deviate ONE aircraft rather than multiple aircraft?
Thanks for any insight in advance.
USMCFLYR