Source: data from P.J. Hugill (1993) World Trade since 1431, Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, p.128

Liner Transatlantic Crossing Times, 1838 – 1952 (in days)

The passenger liner era roughly lasted for about 100 years; from the mid 19th century up to the mid 20th century. The steamship Great Western can be considered as one of the first liners, crossing the Atlantic in 15.5 days in 1838. Then, with technical improvements, crossing times were significantly reduced to about 5 or 6 days. By the early 20th century (1907), the liner Mauritania was able to cross the same distance in 4.5 days, a record which was held for 30 years when the liner Queen Mary reduced the crossing time by half a day (4 days). One of the last liners, the United States (mainly made of aluminum) held the record of 3.5 days in 1952. By that time, air transportation has overtaken the supremacy of liners for transatlantic crossings and reference time became hours instead of days. The usage of ships for passengers is now restricted to cruise shipping, ferries and small scale passenger craft on archipelago countries (Indonesia, the Philippines, the Caribbean) or great river systems in developing countries (Chang Jiang, Huang He, Nile and Amazon).