In case there is a delay, do read up on what’s on offer there to see and do - you might be surprised. We had a very long (7 hours) connection there once and went into the old part of Singapore for several hours - it was great!
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You’ll be wowed, I think, by the quality and choices of Asian food in Oz, and food generally in cafés ect. I’m looking forward to hearing what you think!
I stayed overnight in the chinese “quarter”, it was quite refreshing to see normality rather than the regimented, ultra clean and tidy rest of the city. Even saw rats in the street.
My wife flew to Canada last year with AF in premium economy and she had a reclining seat, so maybe it is down to the aricraft?
I think you’re right, everything I have heard from old schoolfriends and family who live there has whetted my taste buds! (I have family from the Fr and the Scot side of my family in Oz, first cousins on each side who have married Australians) so I’m looking forward to exploring with them and my daughter who lives in Melbourne 
(very exciting, she’s currently working at Melbourne university but she’s taking up a postdoctoral fellowship at csiro in Canberra at the end of August).
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What’s not to like? All types of cheap good food available any time of the day and night (unlike here!), the Bay Gardens area, Chinatown with its temples, Little India, Raffles, the Mosque. OK, you can’t shop cheap like you used to, and they’ve ruined Sentosa, but we enjoyed our 3 day stay in each direction to and from OZ a lot.
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I found most of Singapore far too sterile - it was almost like they’d combed the grass at the side of the road from the airport, and all the people were clones, regulation height, weight etc. It was good to get over the causeway (after Malaysian immigration and customs🙄)
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Horses for courses I guess Maybe I’ll give in another go if Qantas direct disappoints. I remember one of my colleagues was sent on a two year assignment there, he preferred to commute back to Europe to see his family every two/three weeks rather than move there. I could sort of relate to that.
Airlines are under huge pressure to cut costs and to reduce carbon emissions. As I understand it a passenger seat used to weight over 30kg (often up to 36kg.) Latest models are weighing in at under 10kg (some of the latest designs claiming under 7kg.) Eliminating the reclining function is a significant step in achieving that weight reduction. With up to 290 passenger seats on a 787 thats around 6 metric tonnes saved. Combined with other weight savings in cabin lining, locker and other materials the fuel consumption and carbon emissions are reduced even more.
I agree entirely with other comments. As someone over 6’ tall, non reclining seats are excruciating. Particularly on long haul flights.
However, the pressure to reduce the environmental impact of flying is such that I fear non reclining seats will increasingly be the norm.
None of that excuses misleading advertising!
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I love Malaysia!
unless you want to buy a decent sandwich…
They all seem to be sandwich chains these days churning out the same rubbish. Hyères was one of my favorites, you stepped off the plane and straight into a hire car. I liked Satolas back in the day, but it then became Saint Exupéry, now a grim place IMHO. Geneva was quite friendly but I haven’t been there for yonks. Nice is still OK despite being very busy, Marseilles is pretty dreadful, Frankfurt is ghastly. They closed the only interesting one in Berlin, Templehof. For the last 20 years plus London City has been my preferred London option, it’s fine and very handy. Ended up in Gatwick a couple of years ago, it as dreadful a dump as it always was. Heathrow is bearable if you don’t have to be driven all over the show. Stanstead’s surprisingly OK. I prefer to spend as little time as possible in any of them, here or abroad. Some old railway termini are much more interesting. The resto upstairs in the Gare de Lyon for example
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Air France is actually reintroducing conventional reclining seats on some aircraft.
Le Train Bleu? 
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Mirrored my thoughts exactly !
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Yes, the little lounge area down to the left as you come up the stairs is a nice place to wait too.
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Do you know which aircraft are concerned ?
The same type of aircraft can have different seats, there is no guarantee you will get the seat make and model you seek.