Flying from New York to London circa 1935

[samclem]

@Bronto Boy

Sorry about the vagueness. What started as a curiosity has morphed into a possible point for a research article. Essentially I’m curious about how much price has dropped over time and wanted a range of routes and dates to see what it might look like over time.

NOt as much as prices have on television sets.

My dad bought us a 12" Philco black and white in 1947, we were the first on the block. It cost him about $250 or so. That was huge.

[Tom_Tildrum]

@Bronto Boy

For example, the prices listed by samclem for roundtrip NY to London in 1949 were

$630 ($5700 in 2008 dollars) for 1st class; the same trip now costs (according to Expedia) $2550.

Note that that’s $2550 if you change in Detroit or Atlanta (i.e., go way out of your way). A nonstop first-class ticket is likely to cost $10,000.

Of course, in 1949 you wouldn’t have been flying nonstop, but you wouldn’t be going so far in another direction. I dunno how that compares.

[Beware_of_Doug]

@samclem

NOt as much as prices have on television sets.

My dad bought us a 12" Philco black and white in 1947, we were the first on the block. It cost him about $250 or so. That was huge.

[hijack]
I presume you weren’t living in Akron at the time, but relatively close to New York City? Nowhere else was there much private set ownership before the big rollout in the fall of '48 - even where there was a TV signal or two to pick up.
[/hijack]

[Spiff]

@Spectre of Pithecanthropus

I meant to specify that this was around the time of the Titanic.

But of course, the Titanic only took you halfway across the Atlantic.

Too soon?

[samclem]

@Beware of Doug

[hijack]
I presume you weren’t living in Akron at the time, but relatively close to New York City? Nowhere else was there much private set ownership before the big rollout in the fall of '48 - even where there was a TV signal or two to pick up.
[/hijack]

I think I’ve mis-remembered when we got the set, and you’re probably correct that it was sometime in 1948. But, in 1947, living in Arlington, VA, we had two stations that year.

[Beware_of_Doug]

@samclem

I think I’ve mis-remembered when we got the set, and you’re probably correct that it was sometime in 1948.

Yeah, I figured. Pre-Berle and Sullivan, everybody talked about TV but no one much watched it.

[Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus]

@Spiff

But of course, the Titanic only took you halfway across the Atlantic.

Too soon?

Well, actually my source is a memoir by P.G. Wodehouse, who traveled frequently between England and the U.S. before he settled in the latter country. I only used “Titanic” as a handier way to pin down the era I was talking about.

[samclem]

@Bronto Boy

Thanks for replies so far. I should have been clearer. I’ve already seen the wiki stuff and had been hoping that some one might know of something that is a more primary source, i.e., a Pan Am pricing schedule…etc. Any further suggestions?

I think I’ve found a more practical way for you to access this kind of info.

Almost all libraries now have access to the Historical New York Times database. You can enter a string of search terms such as [“Pan American Airways” London “New York”] and get all the hits you want.

Interestingly, after doing this for quite a while today, I discovered that transatlantic air fares were controlled in the early days(pre-1958) by the British(and European) airlines, who preferred to make a profit by low volume, higher fares. The Americans wanted to do the reverse. This frustrated airlines such as Pan Am and TWA.

Anyway, I think using the NYT database will serve your purpose. You may have to tweak your search terms to get everything you want.

[samclem]

@Beware of Doug

Yeah, I figured. Pre-Berle and Sullivan, everybody talked about TV but no one much watched it.

I should have searched for a post I made in 2004 where I actually called my dad to ask about this. Yep, late 1948, had people over to watch the inauguration. And the set only cost $425!