The gonality sequence \({(d_{r})_{r}}\) of a curve X of genus g which doubly covers a curve of genus h satisfies \({d_{r} = 2(r + h)}\) for all \({r = h, h + 1, \ldots, g - 3h}\) provided that \({g \gg h}\). In this paper we explore if this striking feature of \({(d_{r})_{r}}\) actually characterizes such a covering.