The Cunard White Star Line, which prides itself that its Queens are the fastest ships in transatlantic service, last week took the lead in something else. It announced a thumping increase in fares. Sir Percy E. Bates, Cunard board chairman, said that when the Queen Elizabeth begins peacetime service this fall, the minimum rate for first-class passage will be "on the order of $360, perhaps more."
The new first-class fare was higher than Cunard's own prewar rate (about $287), only $15 less than the present air fare from New York to London. (If the Civil Aeronautics Board approves, airlines will soon...