the price in their tickets. Fares advertised from October 1 onwards suggested about $3 would be added to each ticket. He said the abolition of the levy, which had to be bought separately before boarding a flight, was a big step forward. ''It will help things from the passengers' perspective, which is quite important.'' There would also be some savings for the company, including the price of the departure stickers, and staff time involved in serving customers at a departure levy booth, and in processing passengers. Mr Cusack said removing the inconvenience of paying the levy separately would remove an irritation for passengers. That could be significant following a year in which passenger numbers through the airport had barely grown above the 449,500 recorded the year before, and were considerably down on the previous year during the Rugby World Cup. The company still achieved a net profit after tax of $495,564, down from $535,172 the previous year. The dividend paid to the city council, the sole shareholder, will be $193,095, also down on last year.