Close in availability
 

We have a trip coming up from west coast to BOM coming up shortly. We booked this on QR using AA miles a few weeks ago. The trip is in economy class as around the time of booking my searches for J class came in empty. We are a family of 5 so this was not too surprising. However I recollect some mention of how certain airlines release J space close to departure. I am wondering if someone could help me understand which airlines do release close in space, how to find that space and what's the best program to book them from.

From what I recall, booking for 5 is going to be fairly difficult. You will have to determine if you are ok with splitting your family up. Maybe only some of them will be lucky enough to get J class.

Some do if lots of seats are unsold - but 5 is highly unlikely . Best bet is to check for tomorrow and day after on various programs and see what pops up. E.g. I think VS might have availability but surcharges are high.

That's a good idea. I will look for immediate availability to gauge what to expect