How Travel Has Changed Over Time

Today, people typically travel with ease and it is rather inexpensive to purchase a ticket. Depending upon your destination you most likely will arrive in less than 24 hours. There are several modes of transportation available either by plane, ship, train, or automobile. The destination sometimes dictates how you will arrive, however, travelling by plane seems to be the number one choice over all other modes of transportation.

Just a few hundred years ago people were limited on how they could travel. For instance, in the 1600s and 1700s the only modes of transportation were by boat or horse drawn carriage. In the 1800s, the train was included as another mode of transportation. In the 1900s until the present, the automobile and plane were added as additional modes of transportation. Just think in the 1600s it took 7 – 10 weeks, in the 1700s it took 7 weeks, in the 1850s it took 10-12 days, and in the 1900s it took 5 days to travel by boat from NY to England.

Picture being on a sailing ship for weeks moving about 4 to 5 knots (approximately 4.60 to 5.75 mph) the conditions varied depending upon your status. Travel overseas was typically reserved for the rich, however, immigrants would also make the trek from England to America in search of opportunity. The conditions for many immigrant travelers who endured steerage accommodation was very different than in first class. Passengers in steerage typically ate soups, bread, potatoes, herring or stringy beef. Some of the richest travelers would stay in a suite that would include multiple bedrooms, sitting room, multiple wardrobe rooms, a bath, and a private deck. There were first class dining rooms that served oysters, salmon, chicken, lamb, duck, squab, filet mignon, and sirloin beef.

By the 1950s to 1960s a steamship line could cross the Atlantic in 3 days and 12 hours at a speed of more than 33.55 miles per hour. The voyages by ship would soon be overshadowed by the first transatlantic flights that took 26 hours 46 minutes. Today, that same flight would take on average 6 hours and 30 minutes.

The popularity of airplane travel has blossomed into a $38.4 billion-dollar industry with 80.2 million Americans travelling abroad in 2018. This was a 7% increase from the prior year of 73.4 million Americans travelling abroad at $34.5 billion dollars in revenue. As you can see travel has changed significantly and the affordability has allowed more people to partake in it. According to IATA (International Air Transport Association) in 2016 there were 3.8 billion air travelers, however, that number is projected to increase to 7.2 billion by 2035.

Worldwide travelling is increasing exponentially and to handle the increase in air traffic the Al Maktoum Airport in Dubai is working on a $32.67 billion dollar project, the Heathrow Airport in London is working on a $18.5 billion dollar project, the Los Angeles Airport in Los Angeles is working on a $14 billion dollar project, the Beijing Daxing Airport  in Beijing is working on a $13 billion dollar project, the John F Kennedy Airport in New York is working on a $13 billion dollar project, Mexico City Airport in Mexico City is working on a $13 billion dollar project, and the Istanbul Ataturk Airport in Istanbul is working on a $12 billion dollar project, and many more to come. The US alone could see approximately $70 billion spent on more than 50 airport construction projects in the next three years. As a result, we will continue to see air travel progress and change.

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