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Hi Captian Jack,

Several years back, I think it was Daniel Klistorner who did an analysis of the profit that might be earned by shipping companies. I don't have the figures he used in front of me (it's 5.30 a.m. and perhaps I should be in bed? ), as the average fare for each class would presumably be the ideal measurement. However, if we take Olympic's 1911 minimum first class fare of £25 10 shillings; the minimum second class fare of £12 10 shillings; and the minimum third class fare of £7 (the latter £437 even in 2002 British currency), then it becomes clear that it's really a myth that the shipping companies earned their profit mainly on the third class trade.

For instance, it would take three third class passengers paying a fare of £7 to generate revenue of £21; and one first class passenger paying a minimum fare of £25 10 shillings alone would generate more revenue for the company. Now, these figures naturally don't account for profit, as the expense figures would logically vary from class to class. However, it does seem clear (and I do remember that Daniel demonstrated this quite comprehensively), that you would have needed to have carried far more third class passengers than there was capacity for on Olympic and Titanic in order for them to generate more profit than you get from first class passengers.

While it's true that the third class trade was coveted by shipping lines, in my view the idea that they earned more for the company than even a small complement of first class passengers doesn't seem to be supported by the evidence.

Best wishes,

Mark.