How to Validate and Correct Flights with the Flight Picker

Bad flight data means bad grouping. If a traveler enters "UA 1247" but they're actually on "UA 1274," SeatMax will pull the wrong arrival time, wrong terminal, and wrong airport — and put them in a group they won't actually be in.

SeatMax validates every flight number against real airline data from AeroDataBox. When something doesn't match — wrong airport, wrong date, cancelled flight, or a number that doesn't exist — the flight is flagged immediately. The Rider's arrival time is blanked so they don't get grouped on bad data.

SeatMax catches four types of flight problems:

Wrong airport — The flight exists but lands at an airport not on the event's allowed list. A traveler says they're flying into DEN, but UA 1247 actually goes to ORD.

Wrong date — The flight exists but doesn't operate on the date the traveler specified. Airlines reuse flight numbers daily, so a number can be valid on Tuesday but not Wednesday.

Cancelled — The flight was cancelled by the airline. The Rider needs to rebook and update their info.

Not found — The flight number doesn't match any scheduled flight. Could be a typo, a codeshare that isn't in the system, or an invented number.

Flagged flights show a red indicator on the Rider Invites table with a specific error message explaining what went wrong.

Instead of asking the Rider to re-enter their flight number and hoping they get it right, SeatMax provides an inline flight picker that searches real airline data.

Click the flight cell for any flagged Rider and you'll see dropdown filters:

• Airline — Pick the carrier (United, Delta, Southwest, etc.)
• Origin airport — Where the flight departs from
• Time of day — Morning, afternoon, or evening
• Flight number filter — Type a partial number to narrow results

The picker shows real flights operating on the traveler's date: flight number, departure time, arrival time, and terminal. Select the right one and it's instantly verified and saved — no second round of validation needed.

When you import travelers via CSV, SeatMax verifies every flight immediately after import. You don't need to wait or trigger verification manually — by the time you see the Rider Invites table, flights are already checked.

Verified flights show a green checkmark. Flagged flights show a red indicator. You can filter the table to show only flagged flights and fix them all in one pass using the inline picker.

For AI Import, the same verification runs after Claude parses the data. Flights that can't be found are flagged for review in the exception wizard, where you can correct them before confirming the import.

Every flight in the picker includes a FlightAware link. If you're not sure which flight is correct — maybe the Rider gave you an airline but not a number — click the link to see the full flight details on FlightAware: route, aircraft type, historical on-time performance, and current status.

This is especially useful for codeshare flights. A Rider might book through American Airlines but actually fly on a British Airways aircraft. The FlightAware link helps you confirm which operating flight number to use.