Finnair Avios sale, Lufthansa's finally-certified 787 seats, and a surprisingly cheap oneworld first class fare

Hey {{first name | reader}},

Happy Wednesday.

Today's post is a good mix of points strategy, airline drama, and a cash premium cabin fare that's interesting mostly because of the price. A Finnair Avios sale that's genuinely good, a Lufthansa update that finally moves one of the most painfully delayed premium cabin projects forward, and a oneworld first class fare from Scandinavia to the U.S. that's worth a look if you've ever wanted to try long-haul first without paying something completely absurd.

Finnair Plus is currently offering up to 40% off purchased Avios through March 30, 2026. The discount is tiered (as usual): 25% off for 5,000 - 19,000 Avios, 30% off for 20,000 - 49,000, 35% off for 50,000 - 84,000, and 40% off for 85,000 - 200,000.

If you buy at the top tier and pay in USD, the cost works out to about $13 per 1,000 Avios, which is a very good price. Not quite as low as what we teach in Points Master 😉, but still genuinely competitive and worth paying attention to.

A lot of people think the best use of Avios is Qatar business class, so let me say something: given everything going on in the Middle East, a lot of people are understandably hesitant about booking Qatar Airways redemptions. And that's a fair concern. But it's a good reminder that Avios are flexible, they're not locked to one airline or one region. Beyond Qatar, there are a lot of very practical uses for Avios, including:

If you know how to use Avios efficiently across partner airlines, $13 per 1,000 is a solid buy price.

Want to learn how to buy points at even cheaper rates? Check out Points Master!

This has been such a long and messy project.

Lufthansa's Allegris concept was officially unveiled in 2022, with the ambition of introducing a completely new premium product across its long-haul fleet. The onboard rollout began in 2024 on the A350. And now, in March 2026, Lufthansa has finally received certification for most of the new Allegris business class seats on the Boeing 787-9.

Depending on whether you count from the 2022 unveiling, that’s about four years of implementation pain to get here. For a flagship premium project meant to modernize the airline's image, that's a long time. And for us av geeks waiting to fly the product, it feels even longer!

What happened? The biggest issue was that Lufthansa's new 787s entered service in October 2025, but only 4 of the 28 business class seats were initially usable because the U.S. FAA hadn't certified the other seat types yet. Lufthansa's Allegris setup uses multiple different seat variants, and certification had to happen seat by seat, aircraft by aircraft. That left the airline operating brand-new Dreamliners with most of the business class cabin blocked off. Not a great look, and I guess it was terrible economically as well. 

The good news: Lufthansa says 25 of the 28 Allegris business class seats on the 787 are now certified and available. The first flight with the newly approved seats operated on March 15, 2026, from Frankfurt to Toronto, and the rest of the Allegris-equipped 787 fleet is either already flying at full capacity or will be very shortly.

After everything Lufthansa has been through with this project, including supply chain issues, first class delays on the A350, and then the 787 certification mess, this is a pretty meaningful milestone. Finally is definitely the right word.

Now for the fun fare.

There are oneworld first class fares from Stockholm to several U.S. cities, including Boston, New York, San Francisco, and Miami, starting at around $3,500. That's obviously still a significant amount of money in absolute terms, but for long-haul first class, it's quite competitive. These fares typically route on British Airways and/or American Airlines itineraries.

The catch here depends a lot on which first class product you're actually getting.

Let's be honest: American Airlines first class probably shouldn't be called first class at all, at least in my opinion. It's perfectly fine as a way to travel, but nobody is confusing it with one of the world's great aspirational premium products.

British Airways first class has a bit more going for it. The Concorde Room, the private cabin, a nicer ground experience are all great, but the onboard product itself isn't exactly wowing people these days. Dan's review, "British Airways First Class – Britain's Biggest Rip-Off?", makes that point very clearly, and if you're tempted by this fare, I'd genuinely recommend watching it first before deciding whether the experience is worth it to you.

So here's how I'd frame this deal:

This is not the fare you book because you're chasing the most glamorous first class in the world. This is the fare you book if you want to try long-haul first class at a relatively accessible price, you value the extra space, privacy, and ground experience, and you're comfortable with a product that's more "solid premium travel" than "once-in-a-lifetime luxury."

That doesn't make it a bad deal, quite the opposite. It's a good price for what it is. I just think it's important to go in with the right expectations.

That's it for today. More deals and strategies coming your way on Friday.

Catch you in the clouds,

Tomi from Points Master