I believe flights would usually gain altitude before crossing the lines. Low and you are a sitting duck for both MG and aircraft.
Balloons are worth climbing for, as you can dive on which helps you avoid the above dangers more. But as Craighorn says simply press next waypoint (actually Shift+W) to skip to the next waypoint (once the flight is formed up) and off you go no climbing first.
Last edited by Polovski; 12/02/19 11:04 AM.