It might not experience like it , but atmosphere traveling ’s a steal equate to what it was a half century ago . Since the American airline industry was deregulated in 1978 , ticket prices have fallen by about 40 % . Of of course , air travel is n’t quite as luxurious assome postwar dreamer imagined , but you ca n’t beat that terms . So just how much more did it cost to take flight in the 1950s ? Quite a act , once you correct for inflation .
https://gizmodo.com/postwar-dreams-of-flying-in-style-512623148
The May 27 , 1955 issue of Collier ’s powder store included an ad from the now - defunct Trans World Airlines ( more commonly calledTWA ) , which gives a absorbing peek at the terms of air travel at the dawn of the Jet Age . The human race was indeed get smaller thanks to the plane . And equate to rail and bus , TWA wanted Collier ’s readers to know that if you have into account the travelling sentence and cost for meals , croak by plane was n’t that much more expensive . “ Do n’t forget , your travel fourth dimension is worth money , too ! ” the advertizement promulgate .
A one - way flight from Los Angeles to Kansas City would set you back $ 68 , or about $ 575 adjusted for inflation . Today , if you hold two week out , you could get that same one - way flight for $ 183 on Alaska Airlines ( grant to a Travelocity search I just did ) . You ’ll also get there in 3 hours and 11 minute , equate with TWA ’s 1955 quoted time , which is 5 hours . However , today ’s time - sucking dance of protection theatre of operations probably make water that two - minute saving a wash .
I ’ve included a scan of the cost from the TWA ad below , along with some puffiness correct numbers under that . Remember that these are one - way ticket prices and do n’t reflect the price of get home , which could be higher than the damage to get you to your first destination .
Domestic Rates
Los Angeles to Kansas City — $ 68 in 1955 , $ 575 set for inflation
Chicago to New York — $ 33 in 1955 , $ 279 adjusted for inflation
San Francisco to Chicago — $ 76 in 1955 , $ 643 adjust for pomposity
Boston to Los Angeles — $ 106 in 1955 , $ 896 adjusted for inflation
Kansas City to New York — $ 52 in 1955 , $ 440 adjust for inflation
Pittsburgh to San Francisco — $ 96 in 1955 , $ 812 adjusted for inflation
Las Vegas to Los Angeles — $ 13.70 in 1955 , $ 116 adjusted for pomposity
Phoenix to Chicago — $ 69 in 1955 , $ 584 adjusted for inflation
Amarillo to Kansas City — $ 22 in 1955 , $ 186 adapt for pompousness
New York to Columbus — $ 23.90 in 1955 , $ 202 set for inflation
Washington , D.C. to Kansas City — $ 46 in 1955 , $ 389 adjusted for pompousness
St. Louis to Los Angeles — $ 73 in 1955 , $ 617 adjust for inflation
Wichita to Philadelphia — $ 68.55 in 1955 , $ 580 set for pomposity
New York to Pittsburgh — $ 16 in 1955 , $ 135 adjusted for inflation
International Rates ( all from New York )
Paris , France — $ 310 in 1955 , $ 2,622 adjusted for inflation
Rome , Italy — $ 360.20 in 1955 , $ 3,046 adjusted for inflation
Frankfurt , Germany — 328.10 in 1955 , $ 2,775 adjust for inflation
London , England — $ 290 in 1955 , $ 2,453 adjusted for inflation
Madrid , Spain — $ 320.30 in 1955 , $ 2,709 adjust for ostentatiousness
Shannon , Ireland — $ 261 in 1955 , $ 2,207 adjusted for ostentation
Lisbon , Portugal — $ 296 in 1955 , $ 2,503 adjusted for inflation
Geneva , Switzerland — $ 328.10 in 1955 , $ 2,775 adjusted for inflation
So why has air travel become so comparatively garish ? The answer can be ground in few amenities ( think back when meals and thing like checking a bag did n’t cost supererogatory ? ) , the cramming of more seats into plane , and the wage increase of non - Federal carriers .
This all raises question about the DoT technologies of tomorrow . If you ’re under the age of 30 , not much about transportation has transfer that radically in your lifetime — apart from the Mary Leontyne Price ! Will Elon Musk ’s new much - discussedHyperloop techdeliver that cool down new futurist modal value of transportation system we ’ve been waiting for ? And if so , can it be done at a damage average Americans can afford ?
https://gizmodo.com/why-the-biggest-obstacle-for-elon-musks-hyperloop-might-837260844
Of of course , we see air travel as indispensable to the American economy today . So much so that most Americans figured it was a no - brainer to bail out the industry after the September 11th attacks . But it ’s also become commoditized , a mundane and irritate task that ’s far from the futuristic sumptuousness it was sell as in the 1950s . That ’s the patronage off for comparatively affordable accommodations . And the price of any futurist transportation , along with the political savvy of its boosters will ascertain its fate in these decades to fare .
prototype : scanned from the May 27 , 1955 emergence of Collier ’s magazine
paleofuturetransportation
Daily Newsletter
Get the best technical school , scientific discipline , and finish news program in your inbox day by day .
word from the future , fork out to your present .
Please select your hope newssheet and submit your e-mail to upgrade your inbox .
You May Also Like
