Originally Posted by
kanopemainer
..........of having to wait for a passport. ?
First of all, any one posting on these sites ( 'Frequent Flyer' and such ) should know when their passport will expire. I mean they look at it at least once when flying, and "frequent" at that.
So, why do they wait until the last moment to apply ?
Even years ago, when a passport renewal took about 2/3 weeks, I always applied for the renewal about six months out.
Just don't blame the agency for being slow or understaffed.
Any 'Newcomers' to international travel surely make travel plans for such an undertaking at least six months ahead of scheduled trip. They are the ones most likely applying on time and getting the document on time.
So, all you complainers, compare this issue with road/car travel through the sticks of Kansas, leaving a town late at night, knowing the next town is at least 80 miles away, does not have a filling station, at least not open at night, and you forgot to get gas at your departing town before they closed at 6:00 PM.
Even the few in dire need of travel because of an emergency can not make up the bulk of affected not getting their passport in time and therefore making National News Headlines.
Enlighten me.
As always: I stand corrected.
While I agree with you about renewing early, you must understand that many of us "frequent fliers" can't go weeks without a passport, for just that reason: Frequent flying.... If you only have a month break between international trips, what choices do you have? It's either Expedited with both ways FedEx or nothing for many of us, and some can only renew by taking time off and going to the nearest passport agency for an appointment. For example, my daughter had a name change and had exactly 6 weeks between trips to get a new passport (she was 16). We did the expedite + FedEx method and had her passport within 10 days.
But I get truly annoyed with INfrequent travelers who do not have passports (including many of my friends). They don't get around to renewing or applying until way too late in the game, and often I have last minute opportunities for a great trip and can't find a friend with a valid passport to come with me. These are the people clogging the system at the moment... The INfrequent travelers who never thought they would need a passport to go to the Bahamas, and don't even know that the passport agency has a webpage. Often the people who never had a passport to begin with. I have a friend who applied for her passport expedited in June for an Aug. 1 trip, and who is panicking... I asked her about the FedEx, etc, she whined that "nobody told her that she could use FedEx". I had actually told her, but she blew me off when I mentioned it.
And I *sort of* blame the government for this particular mess. I think there was not enough "fair warning" for many of these infrequent travelers, and they weren't prepared for the onslaught of applicants. When you make such changes, you should expect such response. (Plus I think they went through a period of denial, publicly underestimating the renewal/application timeliness.)
Robin