Abstract
Over time the shipping lines grew to see the Atlantic as their own: a space they controlled in terms of the travellers’ experience. Following the end of the Second World War, UK-based Cunard (one of the largest passenger lines) sought to re-establish business very much as in the 1930s. The emergent airline industry used the language and imagery of the shipping lines to build their customer base whilst making much of the benefits of shorter crossing times for both business travellers and those on holiday. In contrast, shipping lines such as Cunard struggled to come to terms with the demise of a market based on one mode of transport. Whilst making moves to enter the airline business, the company believed that ships would retain significant market share of the trans-Atlantic market. Eventually the company declared that “people who need transport will use the air … ships are for leisure”.
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