Originally Posted by CaptainEKAirbus

I'm not sure whether the methodology posted above is correct, as previously mentioned in the forum people booking much less than 72 hours in advance and still have a relatively high sequence number.

However I do have an alternative thought about how sequence numbers are assigned, not sure whether it is correct or not. My idea is that sequence numbers have nothing to do with time of booking or time of check in, but by the looks of may be similar to a cost index of which EK pilots will know about on this fourm. For an Emirates flight a cost index number is assigned to each flight on the flight plan of each flight from 1-1000 with 1 being the lowest priority for a flight and 1000 being the highest. For example if a flight is carrying VIPs or high value cargo, or possibly a flight with a lot of connections it could be given a cost index closer to the 1000 mark rather than 1. So this decides whether the aircraft should operate on time or wait due to delays which can be controlled by the airline - such as waiting for connecting passengers.

Therefore carrying this methodology over to a sequence number method, passengers with connections may be assigned a higher sequence number, as they are more important to fill the following Emirates flight. However it might also depend on the revenue they will gain by connecting you (versus other passengers); for example DEL-DXB-YYZ would mean more revenue than DEL-DXB-DOH. Of course this could also be determined on many other levels such as the cost associated with having to put you on a later flight out of DEL to DXB then in a hotel for the night(s) for the next flight to YYZ, than say DXB-DOH which is multiple times a day thus not requiring as much compensation ie. over night stay in a hotel. Therefore if having to be bumped off a flight due to overbooking or equipment change or whatever the reason might be, they can look at sequence numbers to decide who gets on the flight. Same said for upgrades: Skywards members who are assigned a high sequence number could mean higher priority and higher likelihood of being upgraded for whatever the reason may be!

I for one as staff can see how this method works as at EK we can book stand-by and firm tickets and have noticed higher sequence numbers on flights I have booked firm tickets on than stand-by regardless of class.

Just my thoughts on the method, welcome to provide your insight!