Prospero, excellent post and a wholehearted agreement from me.

brwc, you have my sympathy, and I hope you will have your complaints taken seriously regarding BNE check-in and LHR wheelchair issues. (You need to address any issues up to arrival in LHR to QF, by the way.)

I really recommend not doing LHR-SIN-MEL-BNE on the way back. Any extra connection is best to be avoided, and if you are able to change it, I recommend changing to LHR-SIN-BNE. As you would be well aware as a QF Platinum, domestic sectors are in near-upright seats, and while the seats are sloped on SIN-BNE, the slope does not justify the discomfort involved in a longer flight, an international to domestic connection and a domestic flight. The sloped seat can be made up into a relatively flat seat if you use enough blankets - your daughter should be able to help with this. Given the problems encountered during their outbound, Qantas may consider changing her routing?

May I also add that it is extremely important that your wife carries all her important medications with her in her hand luggage? If the bag is delayed, particularly when involving connecting flights, she could potentially be without her medication for a few days if she has them in her checked baggage. Some medications are difficult to obtain or not available in some countries, and therefore replacing them may prove to be problematic, certainly at a short notice. To me, just one or two days' worth is not quite 'safe enough' when her well-being depends on them.

Good luck with your wife's treatment and with a smoother return journey.