New processing times on passport status website:

Effective October 29, routine service will take 8-11 weeks and expedited service will take 5-7 weeks. Our processing times begin the day we receive your application at a passport agency or center, not the day you mail your application or apply at a local acceptance facility. You will continue to see our older processing times listed until we complete technical upgrades to our online system by November 1st.

10/30/21 - Received passports in the mail today.

nextgen?

no, old style

Minors passports renewal delivered by 10/28.

09/29/21 - Passport renewal application for two minors at the post office in Louisville, KY with expedited processing. Documents shipped to Philadelphia center.
10/04/21 - Online status updated and checks were cashed.
10/28/21 - New passports were delivered. Old style.

Interesting... it's now been 6 weeks since we sent our kids' expedited renewals in, and they haven't even been entered into the system yet, despite USPS confirmation of delivery 5 weeks and 3 days ago. Does this mean they're lost somewhere? What recourse do we have? My passport renewal that was sent the same day is already approved. I can't get any information from anyone or follow up because we don't have the application numbers, since they haven't been entered into the system yet.

The applications are not delivered to US State Department processing centers. They are delivered to lock boxes operates by Citicorp. The initial OCR scanning and entry into the system is outsourced to Citicorp and the passport application will not show on State's system until that Citicorp initial processing has been done and, in fact, is not findable by State until then. State disingenuously ascribes this time to "mailing time" but most of this "mailing time" is not spent with USPS but sitting in a bin at a Citicorp processing center, USPS having delivered it.

My own application spent about 5 weeks in this Citicorp limbo.

Two new data points:

Wife submitted renewal - 8/20/21
Son submitted "new" application - 8/20/21

Both using priority return shipping but standard processing.

Wife's passport received on 10/3/21 so 5-6 weeks door-to-door (I only check the mail once a week so it could have been up to a week sooner)
Son's passport received on 10/31/21 so about 9-10 weeks door-to-door (again, could have arrived at any point this entire week I just didn't check til today)

11/1/2021 - Old cancelled passport received, mailed from Buffalo Passport Agency

Another DP here, applied and requested Expedited service for a renewal, large book.

9/27/21 - Application mailed out via Priority Mail
9/28/21 - Delivered to Philadelphia
9/29/21 - Shows Processed on website (locator number 68-)
9/30/21 - Check cashed
10/28/21 - Shows approved on website
10/30/21 - Passport mailed out from Tucson, AZ (based on USPS Informed Delivery)
11/1/21 - Received new passport (NOT Next Gen) in the mail

Not seeing much difference in recent service levels in this thread for normal vs expedited service. Makes one wonder what the extra charge accomplishes if anything.

We spend more and someone else makes more.

David

Update
 

11/1 kids passports now "in process", finally!
We already canceled our trip to avoid more sunk costs. It's going to really stink if the passports arrive in time...

10/4 - submitted application for a child at the local post office. Regular processing, nothing expedited.
10/8 - check cashed
10/9 - "in process" online, Boston (10...)
10/28 - "approved" online
11/03 - passport in the mailbox, priority mail (never saw the tracking number online, also not in the Informed Delivery, I wonder)

Past experience suggests there is no difference between expedited and regular service, this was no exception.

Of course... passports approved 11/4 and due to arrive 11/6. We didn't need to cancel our trip. Our once-in-a-lifetime trip. Sigh.