This Is the Worst Thing to See On Your Boarding Pass—and No, Its Not SSSS

Boarding passes include a lot of helpful info, but a small printed quantity could possibly be the distinction between making your flight and getting left behind. 

While frequent vacationers could already be acquainted with the SSSS security code (which might set off extra security screenings), another code—and the order the numbers are in—can have a big influence on boarding. The considerably hidden clue is in the sequence quantity, or merely “SEQ” on a boarding move, which references the order in which passengers can test in for a flight. That order can then be used to decide who is in a position to board a flight, and who is just not.

In fact, that same sequence quantity can be utilized to decide whether or not a passenger will get involuntarily bumped from a flight, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT).

“If there are not enough passengers who are willing to give up their seats voluntarily, an airline may deny you a seat on an aircraft based on criteria that it establishes, such as the passenger’s check-in time, the fare paid by the passenger, or the passenger’s frequent flyer status,” the DOT wrote on its web site.

Passengers who checked in late for their flights shared their expertise on social media of being booted off a aircraft, all because of that check-in sequence order.

“My wife and I [tried] to fly [from Connecticut] to [Puerto Rico]… the flight was overbooked and since we were the last two people to check in we had to wait until boarding was completed to see if anyone No showed,” one traveler shared in a post on Reddit. “Everyone showed up and they told us sorry can’t take ya.”

The passenger said they have been ready to re-book on a separate airline and keep their unique return flight, but have been left to fend for themselves when it got here to a refund.

The DOT said airways are required “to give all passengers who are bumped involuntarily a written assertion describing their rights and explaining how the service decides who will get bumped,” but added that compensation is situational.

To help keep away from the unlucky and annoying state of affairs of being bumped, passengers are inspired to test in as early as potential for their flights. That is usually 24 hours in advance of the scheduled departure time.

Beyond overbooked flights, checking in on time matters when it comes to things like seat selection. But travelers should keep in mind that check-in cutoff times vary by airline, so it’s important to note each carrier’s individual policy.

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