How to Read Roll Call Results (And Use Them to Your Advantage)

Most Space-A travelers check the 72-hour schedule and hope for the best. Smart travelers study the roll call history — it tells you exactly what happened on past flights, and that data is the best predictor of what will happen on future ones.

What the Data Shows

Every completed flight in the roll call record includes:

• Seats released vs. seats used — how full the flight was. A flight that released 40 seats but used 12 is a Cat VI dream.
• Selected lowest category — the lowest-priority category that got a seat. If the last person selected was Cat III, Cat VI had no chance.
• Selected sign-up date — the latest sign-up date that still got a seat within the winning category.
• Competed number — how many people were at roll call competing for the remaining seats.

How to Use This Data

1. Identify low-competition routes. If a route consistently has more seats released than people competing, it is a high-probability flight for any category.
2. Know your category's ceiling. If a route never selects below Cat III, Cat VI travelers should look elsewhere.
3. Time your sign-up. If winning sign-up dates are typically 30+ days before the flight, your 5-day-old sign-up will not cut it. Plan further ahead.
4. Spot seasonal patterns. Summer routes to Europe are packed. The same route in February may have empty seats for everyone.

Let the Data Do the Work

The boarding odds calculator on Space-A+ runs this analysis automatically. Enter your category, sign-up date, and route — it pulls from every roll call record to estimate your probability of boarding. Premium members get full access to the historical data and predictions.