Do planes take the long way

Do planes take the long way?
I checked on my moms flight status from Dulles Airport (Washington D.C) to Doha, Qatar and I noticed that the plane went extremely north from Virginia to Maine/Canada border then took an east turn towards Europe why is that? Seems like they took the long way Any restrictions or something?
Air Travel - 4 Answers
Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
They probably wanted to fly with the wind, as it helps save them fuel
2 :
They fly with the wind, is faster and saves fuel. So to answer your question no.
3 :
They take that way way because in the real world that route is the shortest. The planes go that way because then can get a "push" by the Gulf Stream. It saves on the amount of time and fuel.
4 :
If you actually look at a globe rather than a flat 2d map that has been distorted to fit an oblong and get a piece of string out you may find it's more of a shortest distance than you might previously have thought. Shortest distance between two points on a sphere is that which follows the grand circle