[Craig Sandford]

Similarly, my wife recently flew to LHR on Etihad. The preceding flight into Sydney stopped in Asia for a medical emergency, and they cancelled the SYD/AUH sector, and gave her the option to fly via MEL.

SYD/MEL was on QF. She advised her QF FF at check in, and was awarded QF points and status credits for the SYD/MEL sector.

My suggestion is to always add the relevant FF number to a PNR beforehand, as it's always harder to claim later. I keep a record of all my airline, hotel and car rental memberships in my phone, as you never know when arrangements might change.