wow, really appreciate the ideas and insights! re: Finnair, the routings I wanted (seem to be) seasonal, the current ones on OO were from FRA to DXB via AMM on RJ and not on my outbound schedule. Timing is everything on this trip, but am going to look a lot harder at a positioning flight choices. Definitely seeing this more as an investment that should be maximized where possible - will move the rest to OneWorld and thanks for such fast replies!

Bartonio