Exactly. *Everything* depends on astrography and economics of the worlds involved. Two hi-pop cosmopolitan worlds J3 apart are almost certainly going to have J3 commercial traffic between them, along with J1 and J2 traffic via intermediate worlds for passengers and cargo that value price over speed. Consider that I could conceivably get from Los Angeles to Shanghai tomorrow if I were willing to pay a huge price penalty for my late ticket purchase, while the TV set in my living room likely got from Shanghai to LAX on a container ship that took weeks to cover the same distance.

Given the tech infrastructure and astrography of the 3I circa 1100, I'd guess that ordinary commercial traffic in most regions tops out at J3. Sparse areas with worthwhile worlds will have (more or less) dedicated J4+ ships serving them. And the 3I's equivalent of the Concorde will be exceedingly rare J5-6 passenger liners, charging "If you have to ask, you can't afford it" fares.

On Wed, Jun 14, 2017 at 8:45 AM, Christopher Sean Hilton <xxxxxx@vindaloo.com> wrote:
On Wed, Jun 14, 2017 at 11:24:11AM +0000, Greg Aldridge wrote:

[...snip...]

> So you're suggesting that there might be room within the Traveller
> economic setting for a company called Uberlindes Lines who would no
> doubt upset some of the established companies in the passenger
> business?  :)

Yep, with caveats. It doesn't make economic sense any other way. As
another poster pointed out, A J3 ship running J1 can't make money so
the passenger cohort includes only people who can afford to and are
willing to pay for a J-3 trip rather than 3xJ-1s going to the same
place. The economics of the Concorde apply exactly here. The Concorde
barely made money flying at it's cruising speed if it made money at
all. There weren't a lot of people willing to pay to fly across the
Atlantic in two hours rather than six or seven wasn't big at that
price multiplier.

OTOH, In setting, if we are talking about a high tech world, J-3 from
the subsector capital, Uberlindes may be able to thrive offering a
15kCr J-3 service as opposed to the 3wk plus 3xJ-1 route. As I
originally said, the GM needs to think about the situation and impose
rules accordingly.

--
Chris

      __o          "All I was trying to do was get home from work."
    _`\<,_           -Rosa Parks
___(*)/_(*)____.___o____..___..o...________ooO..._____________________
Christopher Sean Hilton                    [chris/at/vindaloo/dot/com]
-----
The Traveller Mailing List
Archives at http://archives.simplelists.com/tml
Report problems to xxxxxx@simplelists.com
To unsubscribe from this list please go to
http://www.simplelists.com/confirm.php?u=PltOdItWBSgOP4y0Q6abkGbDI1eus0lz



--
"Eternity is in love with the productions of time." - William Blake