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World Ship Society, Port of New YorkBranch
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Friday, February 23, 2018 - 6:00 PM
TRANS-ATLANTIC 1958
Presented by Bill Miller
Community Church Assembly Room 40 East 35th Street Manhatten

Trans-Atlanticliner travel was still booming in 1958. More passengers were sailing toand from Europe than ever. Alone, Cunard had over a dozen liners on theirtrans-ocean runs – and carried almost a quarter of all passengers. Butthen there was a bang, a big bang – that October, the first jet airliners begancrossing the Atlantic. Historic Cunard was dismissive and quick toannounce: “Flying is a fad – it will pass!”
But within sixmonths, by mid-1959, the airlines grabbed as much as two-thirds of alltrans-Atlantic traffic. By 1963, they had 98 percent. The Atlanticliner was all but doomed. After one crossing from Southampton in 1962, forexample, the mighty QUEEN ELIZABETH steamed into New York harbor with only 125passengers onboard being looked after by 1,200 crew. It wasn’t economicanymore!
Bill Miller, whois writing a new book on the Atlantic liners in the Fifties and Sixties, willtake us on a grand "fleet review" of passenger ships in and around1958. So, the whistles are sounding, the lines are being cast and a sentimentalvoyage to Europe begins!