A recent story argues that the worst thing to see on your boarding pass is a high sequence number. I disagree. Sequence matters, but there is something I find far more concerning: no seat assignment at all!

Why “See Agent” Worries Me More Than A High Boarding Pass Sequence Number

Travel + Leisure recently published a story warning travelers about the sequence number, or “SEQ,” printed on many boarding passes. The argument is that your sequence number reflects when you checked in and, on an oversold flight, check-in time can be one of the factors an airline uses to determine who gets involuntarily denied boarding. That’s true. The Department of Transportation notes that airlines may consider factors including check-in time, fare paid, frequent flyer status, and whether a passenger already has a seat assignment when determining boarding priority on an oversold flight.

But I wouldn’t call a high sequence number the worst thing you can see on a boarding pass. No, the words I don’t like seeing are:

SEE AGENT

Especially when they appear where my seat number should be.

A High Sequence Number Does Not Mean You’re About To Be Bumped

Your sequence number generally indicates where you fell in the check-in sequence for that flight.

But by itself, it tells you very little about whether you are actually in danger of being left behind.

You could have sequence number 180 on a 180-seat airplane and still have a confirmed reservation and seat assignment. Unless something unusual happens, I’m not going to worry much about that.

I’ve even had a sequence number in the 300s on an aircraft with only about 220 seats. No, the airline had not somehow sold 100 people more tickets than there were seats. My flight was operating as a continuation under the same flight number, so passengers checking in for the earlier sector had already pushed the sequence count far beyond the physical capacity of my aircraft.

Sequence is an indicator, not a passenger count.

“See Agent” Gets My Attention

What concerns me far more is checking in and receiving a boarding pass with no seat assignment, particularly when the seat field says “See Agent” or “Seat Assigned At Gate.”

To be clear, that does not automatically mean you are going to be bumped or even necessarily suggest that you will.

Basic economy passengers may not receive seats until the gate. Airlines also block certain seats until departure for operational purposes, families, passengers with disabilities, or other needs. Codeshares and document checks can produce similar messages. Delta, for example, explicitly tells Main Basic passengers that if no seat appears on the boarding pass, it will be assigned at the gate.

Sometimes the apparent problem is simply that all of the seats available for free advance assignment are gone while “preferred” or extra-legroom seats remain blocked or available only for a fee. As departure approaches, the gate agent can release those seats and assign them to passengers who were waiting for one.

Most of the time, everything works out.

But if a flight really is oversold, I would much rather be sitting there with seat 22A already printed on my boarding pass than holding one that tells me to wait for an agent to find me somewhere to sit, regardless of sequence number.

A seat assignment is not an absolute legal guarantee that you will fly. Airlines can change seats, swap aircraft, and involuntarily deny boarding under certain circumstances. But practically speaking, a confirmed seat assignment is qiute reassuring.

And SSSS?

Then there is SSSS, which many might argue is the worst thing to see on your boarding pass and means you’ve been selected for additional security screening.

I suppose I could be persuaded that this is worse than “See Agent,” particularly if you don’t enjoy a complimentary full-body massage from the TSA…

But at least SSSS generally concerns how unpleasant the process of reaching your airplane will be. “See Agent” with no seat assignment can leave you wondering whether you’re getting on the airplane at all.

CONCLUSION

Yes, check in early. There is little downside, and check-in time can matter when an airline has to decide who gets bumped from an oversold flight. But don’t panic because you see a large sequence number on your boarding pass. Without context, that number may mean very little.

What I check first is much simpler: do I have a seat?

If the answer is yes, I’m generally not worried about the sequence number. If the answer is “See Agent”…then you’re still probably fine, but I’d be a little more concerned.

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