PASSAGES TO ENGLAND

Press, Volume LXVI, Issue 20108, 11 December 1930, Page 18

PASSAGES TO ENGLAND

SURCHARGE OP 5 PER CENT. (PRESS ASSOCIATION TELEGRAM.) WELLINGTON, December 10. Owing to the adverse exchange rates the Australian and New Zealand Shipping Conferenco has decided to make a surcharge of o per cent, on passages from New Zealand via the Suez Canal, Cape of Good Hope, Panama, and Cape Horn routes from December 24tli. This surcharge will be added to all passage money paid in New Zealand. The surcharge will not applv to passages booked before December 24th, and intending passengers who had already paid deposits on tickets available at a future aate are not subject to the impose. The conference, in making the announcement, states that it is reluctantly compelled to make the surcharge in view of the high cost of exchange in remitting money to the head offices of the shipping lines m London. Enquiries by a Pkess representative yesterday elicited tho fact that the surcharge on passenger fares to London has been made at the request of those companies having their head offices in England, they being the only concerns affected by the adverse exchange rate as operative between New Zealand and Australia and Great Britain. The delay in announcing the increase, which has been rumoured in shipping circles for the past two weekshas apparently been due to-the attitude of firms, which, with their head offices situated in New Zealand, do not have to remit fares to Great Britain. The measure, which is onl- a temporary one, will not affect bookings to any extent, the majority of which at tho present time are those of holiday-makers. The increases, of about £2 on third-class, £4 10s sec-ond-class, and £5 first-class, all minimum fares, will not be made as an increase in tho nominal fare, but wilJ be added to the booking under the heading "exchange."