I'm trying to plan a trip to either SIN or somewhere in Australia in june and for every destination I search (AC direct or with codeshare), AC is priced at least 50% or more above american carrier prices (UA, DL, AA) for a simple Y seat. This is for a departing point in eastern Canada, either YUL, YOW or YYZ. I've also tried all date, weekend, middle of the week, etc, and still I can't get a decent fare out of AC.

I can understand paying a small premium for the convenience of avoiding USA customs, but 50% is nonsense; I cannot possibly justify paying that much more.

Is there something I am missing or am unaware of?

Max