£72 for a freakin' passport renewal!!

I don't smoke and I drink very occasionally but I prefer to fly further afield than s***ty Europe, which is where I assume you're flying too at those prices, if not can you show me how to get to the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, S Africa for 4p or 60 return?

Redman

Yes, all you need is a boarding card (or a print-out of your online check-in confirmation). If it's an airline which insists on photo ID, they do the check themselves at the gate.

David

??? Cheap flights are not caused by expensive passports...

If you donb`t want to deal with "s***ty" europe then yes it is possible to get to those places you`ve listed for free. Actually, you`d be paid to go there, but I`ll leave it for you to figure out who to deal with. personally I`m happy with Europe right now - I certainly fail to see how you can think that America has more to offer than all of Europe.

No, but a few replies ago a poster was talking about inflation - the passport (accoring to their figures) is still the same cost in real terms as it used to be. Flights are certainly not as expensive in real terms as they where. I didn`t say there was a link between the two, but if it`s a choice between lowering the cost of a passport to 1970`s prices, or raising the cost of flights to 1970`s levels, I`ll have the expensive passport.

New Liebour and the "SS identity" department are the cause of expensive passports. They just love burning up your money on their wages.

I got a new 48 page passport on 15 January 2005, and it's full, so I'm renewing it now.

You're wrong. I travel internationally a lot with a military ID card.

Without a passport and on civilian flights? I find that hard to believe because I never could, even pre 9/11

Redman

Yeah I know all about courier type jobs or an employer paying for you but the question still stands, show me how other than the 2 methods I've mentioned that you can get to any of the places I mentioned for 4p or 60 return? America even though it's a s*it country still offers a lot more in my opinion than Europe, especially if you have young kids. I'll take it you've never been to Orlando, LA, Vegas etc. How about Vancouver, Toronto? Sydney, Darwin, Perth? Auckland? The only 2 countries in Europe which I've enjoyed was/is Germany and Holland

Redman

Perhaps the OP objects to being tagged like a poodle?

I wonder where the term "sheeple" came from :)

The product has changed, so more than inflation has affected the price.

The product has not changed in terms of what the user gets.

It may have changed "internally", to be in some sense "better", but that's of benefit to the country as a whole, not to the user, and it would be more reasonable therefore for the cost of these "improvements" to be met from general taxation than from fees.

Why should people not traveling pay for passport costs? The improvements are not for the whole country but are additions demanded by many countries people wish to visit.

You want to travel abroad, you pay the fee. Considering what people pay to travel this is a minor expense.

"Ronald Raygun" wrote

Is the 'user' not part of 'the country as a whole' ?

"Ronald Raygun" wrote

Assuming that the vast majority of the country obtain passports, and pay taxes, then those two groups of people (passport holders and taxpayers) are the same, no?

A standard passport here in the Philippines costs PHP500 (about £6.25)

Chris

"Chris Blunt" wrote

How much does a loaf of bread, or a beer cost?

It contains paper which would burn in a microwave. Probably it includes a RFID chip as well, but I think the paper would be destroyed first.

Jesus, that's well cheap

Redman