Quote Originally Posted by flyer146 View Post
Now, my question is: can pax also somehow book a ticket on CO or UA without selecting a seat (or be given one randomly by the system)? Because if they can't, then those seatmaps are actually a fairly accurate and up-to-date outlook on the total load of each flight and definitely a great tool for non-rev travellers to check the loads.
I work in UA reservations. NEVER rely on the seatmap as an indicator. You can definitely book a tickets without getting a seat assignment, and the system won't "automatically" assign you a random seat, whether you booked through UA, another website like Orbitz, or through a travel agency. I have seen many flights that were overbooked with quite a few seats still showing open on the seat map. Not a good indicator at all.