Crossing the Pond Gets Cheaper

I was looking at the pricing for a steamship birth from the UK to the US in the mid-1850's, and was surprised by how expensive it used to be. A few ads from 150 years ago today:

Steam to New York from Havre. The American steam-ship ERICSSON, Captain Lowber, will leave Havere for New York, direct, August 4th. Fares- First Class, £25: second class £20 and £16. To engage passage apply to Oroskey and Co. Southampton, and 67 Gracechurch-street, London.

Steam to New York from Southampton. The next departures of the United States Mail Steamers will be as follows:
UNION, 1,650 tons, 600 horse power, Wednesday, August 1
HERMANN, 2,000 tons, 7500 horse power, Wednesday, August 15
ARAGO, 3,000 tons, 800 horse power, Wednesday, WASHINGTON, 2,000 tons, 750 horse power, Wednesday, September 12

Fares, including provisions, steward's fees &c: By the Union and Arago, first class, £30; second class, £20 (and by the Arago only £16). By the Washington and Hermann, first class, upper saloon, £28; lower saloon £24, second class £15.

For freights or passage apply to Grindlay and Co., 9 St. Martin's lane, Charing Cross; or to the undersigned, general agents,

CROSKEY and Co., Southampton, and 67 Gracechurch street, London.
Drafts and letters of credit upon the United States.

If we take the average cost of a second class ticket as £20, and try a few numbers for inflation over the past 150 years, we get:

3% inflation inflation= $3,000
4% inflation £7178 = $13,000
5% inflation £30159 = $55,000


Now I have no idea what real inflation has been over the past 150 years, I used the basic CPI rate of just under 4% in the years from 1913 to 2004 as the midpoint. In any case, a nice cabin on a cross-Atlantic steamer which any of the travelers would have loved to swap for a 6 hour hop in a plane would conservatively cost around $10,000, adjusted for inflation. That's one way!