I was about to book two Aeroplan tickets to go to Chile all on AC metal:

Ticket 1: ORD-YYZ-SCL (and then back) had fees of ~$280 CDN

Ticket 2: YYZ-SCL (and then back) had fees of ~$385 CDN

Since the majority of the fees are related to the fuel surcharge, why would the itinerary with fewer flights and less flight time cost more?

I also looked at these flights on revenue tickets - exact same itinerary.

Ticket 1 - fuel surcharge of $160 CDN.

Ticket 2 - fuel surcharge of $308 CDN.

I complained to an Aeroplan supervisor and she claimed that they have no say in the fees that they collect. It is up to the "computer" and that is set by Air Canada. She suggested that I talk to Air Canada Customer Relations who would in turn likely explain to me how they calculate the fuel surcharge.

Can someone explain this insanity to me?