OceanGate, a privately owned manned submersible and survey company, recently tested its newest submersible, Titan, at depths of 13,000 feet underwater in the Abacos. Next year, the company plans to use the sub to perform 3D laser surveys of RMS Titanic. For $105,129 per person, which OceanGate represents as the cost of an inflation-adjusted first class ticket on the original Titanic, passengers (referred to as Mission Specialists) can ride along/participate in the Titanic surveys. While this might seem to be a high price for most of us, of the first six voyages planned for 2019, the first four trips are sold out and there is limited availability on the last two.
What was the cost of a first-class ticket on the ill-fated maiden voyage of the Titanic in 1912? OceanGate quotes the price of first-class passage as $4,350. Is this the right figure? How much did passage on the Titanic actually cost? And how much has the price increased due to inflation? As is so often the case, it depends on who you ask.
Money magazine in an article titled, Here’s What the Most Expensive Ticket on the Titanic Would Have Bought You, says that “the most expensive ticket on the ship [was] $2,560 in 1912 dollars, or more than $61,000 today.”
On the other hand, JamesCameronOnline.com Titanic FAQ, says that “The first class tickets ranged enormously in price, from $150 (about $1700 today) for a simple berth, up to $4350 ($50,000) for one of the two Parlour suites. Second class tickets were $60 (around $700) and third class passengers paid between $15 and $40 ($170 – £460).”
Oddly, the highest figure from Cameron’s FAQ reflects the number quoted by OceanGate, while using a much lower inflation rate. If one uses the assumed inflation rate assumed by Money magazine then the $103,652, which is not far from the OceanGate expedition price. Using a CPI Inflation Calculator, found with the help of my friend Google, the 2018 price of a 1912 $4350 ticket would be $113,027.
It is a mind over matter.
Money doesnt mind, so what does it matter?
“Oddly, the highest figure from Cameron’s FAQ reflects the number quoted by OceanGate. . . ”
Typical; they quote the figure that best makes their case, while ignoring the rest. It’s a common (and none-too-honest) tactic. I know a guy who’s always harping on the subject of homeschooling, who quotes a figure of $19K as the cost to educate a child in public school. That number is from (I believe) NYC, and is at least double the national median for various reasons, but he presents it as the cost nationwide because it suits his argument.
Not as expensive as a ride into space. For anyone with the interest and the means it presents a chance of a lifetime to be a part of history. It would be a rare opportunity to explore the unknown and to experience the boundary of man’s capabilities.