Every now and then I come across a “destination nugget” that intrigues me, which I will pass along to you - like the cool Manta ride or the free National Parks weekends. Here’s the latest:

Up for something truly scary? Chicago’s Sears Tower, the tallest building in the U.S., has just opened 4 glass “viewing boxes” to the public - that stick out from the building - 103 floors up!

And that glass - which is a mere one-and-a-half inches thick - completely surrounds you, including under your feet. So you see everything. If you dare.

It is said to give you the “sensation of floating” - I’m afraid it might give me another sensation altogether - but the view of the city and the Chicago River below looks magnificent. Well, it would if you could bear to open your eyes.

The glass is supposed to be able to withstand 5-tons - far more than the weight of the number of people that could fit on a platform at any one time. Still…(shudder).

Which reminds me - I’ve just used FareCompare’s New Deal Finder, and there are some good prices to Chicago - like this cheap fare from New York to Chicago for just $209 roundtrip total.

Meanwhile, you’ll have to excuse me — I’m getting dizzy just looking at the viewing box photos.

Four year old Spring Airlines, based in Shanghai, is a low cost carrier that could put Ryanair and its unabashedly cheapskate ways to shame.

Because Spring is looking at the idea of “standing room only” for some of its passengers.

Here’s the situation: unlike a lot of airlines around the world, Spring apparently has more passengers than it knows what to do with. They are buying more planes, but they won’t be delivered until next year. So…if they fill a plane with standing passengers, they can shoe-horn in 40% more than in a regular jet.

Now, the stories I’ve read on this have been a little confusing - at one point, a Chinese officials is quoted as saying, “it’s just like barstools” - and then they talking about passengers “standing” - but in any event, there will be safety belts - just no food, water or carryon bags. If this idea wins approval.

That’s still a pretty big “if” - the airline has to submit this idea to the country’s aviation regulator. So, it might never happen.

But let’s say it does - Spring Airlines says it’ll charge the standees 20% less than its sitting passengers. I don’t know - does that strike you as a good deal? Leave a comment…

UPDATE: Computers are back up

If you’re flying in or out of Chicago’s O’Hare today, stay in touch with your airline. Especially if you’re flying United!

Just in time for Fourth of July holiday travel - according to several news reports, there has been a computer outage affecting United Airlines, resulting in delays and cancellations. You can see that for yourself on FlightStats.

The United Airlines website acknowledges an “airport check-in system issue” and the resulting delays/cancellations. Apparently United employees are now using a “manual process” to check employees in - and you know that’s going to take awhile. Print your boarding pass at home - at least save yourself a little bit of time. And keep monitoring United.

Sounds like a real mess out there.

People are getting it.

In Rob Lovitt’s column called “Dollar-saving strategies for summer travel” for MSNBC, he points out that following individual airlines on Twitter to learn about their latest deals would “be a time-suck of epic proportion”.

His advice? Cut to the chase.

“[FareCompare] recently launched individual Twitter accounts for 100 cities, so you can cut to the chase via city-specific posts like: $219r/t Los Angeles to Fort Lauderdale down 8%, [http://bit.ly/1HMxT] #LAX #fare. Just don’t blink.” -Rob Lovitt, MSNBC July 1, 2009

By “just don’t blink” he means these fares go fast. Sometimes they disappear in a matter of minutes. So sign up now to follow your home airport, and get in on the best deals available.

NOTE: We now have individual accounts for more than 170 cities in the U.S. and Canada.

This starts right now!

Northwest passengers flying in/out/through Los Angeles will no longer go to Terminal 2 at LAX - Northwest will now be based out of Terminal 5 and 6, which is where merger partner Delta is.

Got that? Believe me, it’s a looong trek if you go to the wrong terminal - from one end of the airport to the other. Again, for Northwest flights, head to Terminal 5 and 6. I’m told they’ve changed the signs, but who bothers to look when you “know” where you’re going?

Note: for the time being, Northwest will still have separate check-in counters from Delta.

I’ve said this before, but it bears repeating…

If you want to fly this summer - within the U.S. - get your tickets now.

Haven’t you noticed? The pace of those fast-and-furious airfare sales has cooled. Yes, there are still good deals - but not nearly as many - and we’ve recently seen 2-airfare hikes, the first of the year.

I give all the details about this in my latest column for ABCNews.com - check it out.

And although the Faithful Readers of this blog are probably sick of hearing it, this too bears repeating: save time and money by following FareCompare deals ‘from your home airport’ on Twitter - and sign up for FareCompare’s real-time email alerts.

Why do this? Because it works.

J.D. Power and Associates has come out with their latest “North American Airline Satisfaction Study” - but you can call it a report card.

The “A” student among “traditional network” carriers was - Alaska Airlines. The tops in the “low cost airline” category was - JetBlue.

Both did well in things having to do with customer service, including the “flight crew experience” - but apparently the best-liked crews can be found at WestJet - and Alaska. Also scoring high in crew-attitude was Delta. See all the results here.

I’m curious. Which airline crews do you like best? And if there are some you don’t like - how come?

Ah, yes - more bag fees…

Some of these fees have previously been announced, but since they’re being instituted this week, I thought it was time for a reminder.

• NEW Delta/Northwest International Bag Fee: Starting July 1, Delta/Northwest will charge $50 for a 2^nd checked-bag to Europe (the first is still free)
• NEW Alaska Airlines Bag Fee: Starting July 7, Alaska will start charging $15 one-way for 1^st checked-bag (a 2^nd checked bag is $25 one-way)
• NEW Airport Bag Fees: Starting July 9, US Airways will charge you an extra $5 each-way to check a bag at the airport instead of online. United began charging the same fee in June.

My advice: whenever possible, use a carryon bag - and save.

Dreamliner Progress Report: more delays…

The Dreamliner, which has already overshot its delivery date by about two years - is now likely to be pushed back perhaps a few more months, due to a “structural flaw” discovered during ground testing.

Some of Boeing’s customers are getting frustrated: according to the Wall St. Journal, Australia’s Qantas “scratched” orders for 15 of the planes, and will delay taking 15 others (but they also have more Dreamliners on order).

In case you were thinking of getting in line - and many airlines still very much want this huge plane - the list price is $178 million.

Yes, the number of air travelers is expected to rise this coming Fourth of July holiday weekend, according to the venerable American Automobile Association (AAA) - which is especially interesting since car travel is expected to take a dip.

But as far as the air travel numbers are concerned, it’s a no brainer - the price of airfare has been so cheap for so long, as airlines desperately try to lure travelers into their planes.

Apparently, it’s working. And this, along with the two recent airfare price hikes we’ve seen, is just one more sign that the bottom is near, at least for U.S. domestic flights.

ADVICE: If you’re making vacation plans to fly in the U.S. this summer, BUY NOW. If you plan to go to Europe or have other international flight times, you still have some wiggle-room, but don’t delay for long.

Yes, our alerts - in email and on Twitter really do work. So get going! Here’s why:

You may recall that I spotted that “second airfare hike of the year” just this week and a lot of publications have been talking about it. I think my “money quote” on airfare prices bears repeating:

“I think for the consumer, it’s as good as we’re going to get right now.” -Rick Seaney in the Wall St. Journal, 6-25-09

And as I’ve been telling you, there are a couple of ways to get great deals first - by following FareCompare deals from your airport on Twitter - or by signing up for FareCompare’s real-time email alerts.

Does it really work? Yes, it does. I just now got this nice note from a very satisfied customer:

“Rick, I have been watching flights to Hawaii out of Dallas all year. I had given up all hope to go when I received an email update on Wednesday for the “fire sale.” Thanks to your service my family of four, and the in-laws will be enjoying a week in Hawaii to see my brother-in-law. You offer an unbelievable service!!” - FareCompare email alert user, 6-26-09

You’ve seen the recent stories: airlines “misplacing” children traveling solo (I mentioned this horror myself, in my latest column for ABCNews.com).

Clearly, it’s past time for some tips.

Most important tip? If you or a family member can’t travel with a child under 12 - maybe the child shouldn’t fly. Overly cautious? Perhaps - but I’m a parent - and I get very disturbed when I hear about children as young as five flying all by themselves.

However, sometimes it can’t be helped - so here are some safety tips:

1. Cell Phone: Make sure your child has a charged up cell phone (and charger in luggage) and make sure the child knows how to use it (go ahead and practice with him). Preprogram all important numbers in the phone.

2. Write a Note: Make sure your child has a note from you - on his person - stating your child’s name and your phone numbers, the airline being flown along with flight numbers and times, and his confirmation number. Teach the child to hand it to any airline/airport employee if he (or she) is confused about anything. Often children are too shy to question authority; handing over a note could be much less traumatic.

With little ones, you might want to pin a note to their shirt that says, “Hi, I’m flying to Hartford” or wherever (and if the child rips this off, you know they were too old for this).

3. Ask THE Question: Train your child to memorize a question: “Is this the flight to Hartford?” or whatever city the child is heading to - and have the child ask this of his airline escort before boarding the plane. Once onboard, have him repeat it to the flight attendant or whoever greets the passengers. Then ask his seatmates. Overkill? Not if it’s your child.

4. Don’t Wander: When you take your child to the gate (where presumably you’ll meet up with a sharp, on-the-ball airline escort) point out the gate agents at their podiums, and tell the child to go to one of those in case Grandma isn’t waiting for him at his destination. Explain in no uncertain terms, he is not to wander.

Readers, I’m sure you have many more ideas out there - and I’d love to hear them.

You asked for it - you got it! Two great new tools to make vacation airfare shopping a snap.

1. Cheap Deals to Hawaii: Take a look at our new “Cheap Deals to Hawaii” page, where you can see the best available deals, for any month you like - from any airport. We gathered all the great deals to this favorite destination-which includes all the best-loved islands - by popular demand!

2. FareCompare’s Deal Finder: We’ve made significant improvements to this tool that so many of you have been raving about.

If you’re not familiar with Deal Finder, it’s perfect for people who know what they want to do on vacation - say, lie by a beach - they just aren’t sure precisely where to do it.

The new, improved Deal Finder now helps you find cheap flights to destinations by category - for example, you may want to see the best deals for Top Family-Friendly Destinations, or find Deals to Beaches, or perhaps Deals to Casinos and Nightlife. We also offer Deals to Golfing, Resorts and Spas - plus Deals to Family Fun Destinations - and even the Great Outdoors.

Deal Finder still includes all those other popular choices, including Deals to Top Cities in Europe, North America, Asia, Mexico and so much more. Try it - you’ll love it.

Then, yesterday at 12:30pm EDT - we began tracking a significant change in American Airlines domestic airfare pricing: increases of $10 and $20 roundtrip on a significant number of U.S. routes. Historically airfare hikes have been initiated on Thursday evenings, but neither this hike attempt nor the one we had just two weeks ago is following the historical pattern.

Not surprisingly, matching activity began yesterday evening at 8:00pm EDT - when United began to significantly match this hike across the bulk of its domestic route system.

Oddly enough, yesterday was also the day United filed a small number of fire sale airfares to Hawaii, with flights ranging from $250 to $275 roundtrip to Honolulu from legacy competitor hubs including Dallas, Houston, Newark, Atlanta, Minneapolis, and Salt Lake. Normally these tickets would be about three times as much.

But for the most part, the frenzied pace of domestic airfare sales has dried up recently.

I have been cautioning consumers for the past month that they procrastinate on purchasing airline tickets at their own risk - and these two airfare price hikes in the past few weeks is the strongest signal I have seen that the bottom is either here - or very near.

You arrive at JFK - or some other major airport hub - and when you emerge from the airport, you’re met by a fast-talking fellow who steers you to his cab or van or car, all the while telling you he’ll get you into the city for cheap.

You are being hustled.

This happened to some French tourists this week - who got their money’s worth in excitement - when police began chasing the driver of their illegal taxi van which raced along city streets for several miles before crashing. Fortunately there were only a couple of minor injuries, and the tourists were remarkably cheerful the next day, telling reporters that New York is “the greatest city in the world” (sounds like they’re Letterman fans).

Some tips:

• Avoid “gypsy cabs” and other non-licensed vehicles: the legitimate cabs are all lined up at the curb. If your cabbie claims to be licensed, and it’s a hike to his vehicle, he isn’t. By the way, these taxis can cost just as much as the legit ones.
• Check out the transportation choices before you arrive: JFK, for example, offers many alternatives to taxis including trains and a bus system that takes you directly to Grand Central for $27 roundtrip.
• Consider a private car service: it need not be a limo - and it can cost just a few bucks more than a taxi fare

It gives me great pleasure to announce the start of our new “Where is Graeme?” contest.

Graeme, FareCompare’s Cranky Scotsman, is traveling in Europe for the next four weeks - and we want you to guess where he is. We provide the clues, and every guess is automatically entered to win the Grand Prize: a fabulous European trip for two, including flight and 6-days/5-nights in a preferred hotel.

Plus, just by entering, you can quickly and easily sign-up for real-time alerts from FareCompare via Twitter - alerts about great airfare deals on flights from your home airport! Now that’s a total win-win.

HOW TO PLAY: Click this link - now wasn’t that easy? Play as often as you like. And good luck, everyone!

Every now and then I come across a “destination nugget” that intrigues me, which I will pass along to you - like the cool Manta ride or the free National Parks weekends. Here’s the latest:

This Fourth of July, you could be watching the skies of Southern California light up with fireworks - from a zeppelin. How cool is that?

Airship Ventures is offering what they call “flightseeing tours” above the Los Angeles area from July 3 through the 7 - and the highlight is a special 2 hour Independence Day flight along the LA area coastline.

This is a special promotion by the Northern-California based company, and you have your choice of one or two hour flights while they’re in Southern California. Please note: if you book the Fourth of July extravaganza, it’ll cost you $1,200 per person.

The company is also offering a 8 hour long flight along the coast between LA and San Francisco, which I imagine is just spectacular. See more details here.

An airline analyst at UBS Securities is quoted by Bloomberg as saying, the demand for travel remains “putrid”.

And analyst Kevin Crissey also lowered his estimates for earnings “or losses and stock price targets” for ten U.S. airlines, including Delta, American, United and more.

Mr. Crissey expects the summer months to be “about as bad” as they were for the airlines in the spring. Not good for the airlines - but good for deals.

And yes, the deals are still out there. And by using our real-time email alerts, and by following FareCompare deals from your own airport on Twitter (sign up here), you can get those bargains first.

Don’t get me wrong - as I say in my column, most employees in the travel industry are “terrific people who work very hard to keep us safe.” But we’ve all met some doozies.

Maybe not this bad, though.

Here are some of the “horror stories” I’ve collected: a baggage handler who falls asleep in the cargo section of a plane and then takes an “unexpected ride”; a truck driver who “forgets” to radio for permission to cross a runway and nearly has an up close and personal meeting with a jet; and then there’s the pilot who may or may not have had a “problem” (his passengers sure thought he did!).

Read their stories and more in my latest weekly column for ABCNews.com - plus I’ve got tips on what to do, should you ever run into anyone remotely like these oddballs.

This Irish carrier never fails to amaze (and amuse) me.

CEO Michael O’Leary has announced that starting this spring, passengers aboard Ryanair will not be allowed to check any bags. None whatsoever.

At the moment, passengers are only allowed one carryon bag that cannot weigh more than 22 pounds - but O’Leary says he’s going to change that and “offer an ‘unlimited’ allowance for carry-on bags that comply with government size limits” - which frankly has me scratching my head. Somehow I have the feeling that his definition of “unlimited” is different from mine.

The motive is money: O’Leary believes this measure will help the airline save some $28 million dollars a year.

The always (always) outspoken O’Leary wants to reassure everyone that this is no big deal, and told members of the media, “This isn’t the end of civilization as we know it.” Good to know.

Big day for Republic Airways Holdings - per the Wall St. Journal, the company has agreed to acquire its fellow regional carrier, Midwest Airlines.

Republic is also paying more than $100 million to help its connection partner, Frontier to “emerge from bankruptcy protection”. That’s a busy company.

The reports say Midwest will stay Midwest - that Republic intends to keep the Midwest brand separate.

I only hope they keep those warm baked-on-the-plane cookies, too.

Maybe you are one of those travelers that paid $200 for a year’s worth of speedy access through airport security, via the “Clear” program operated by Verified Identity Pass.

If so, you’re out of luck. USA Today is reporting that Verified just went out of business. Its speedy lines are closed.

Quick backgrounder: complaints about the long, slow lines at security prompted the TSA to create the Registered Traveler program - which was operated by private companies at 21 airports (and Verified had 18 of those airports). Travelers signed up, went through background checks, and then, after paying the fee, could breeze through an exclusive security line.

But Verified, which dominated this business, ran into financial difficulties - and now these quick lines are available to Registered Travelers only at three airports - in Jacksonville, Louisville and Reno. No more zipping through Atlanta or Orlando or Dulles - those lines were run by Verified.

So will you get your 200-bucks back? No. According to the Fly Clear website, “At the present time, because of its financial condition, Verified Identity Pass, Inc. cannot issue refunds.”

But don’t forget - a lot of the airlines already offer “speedy” lines through security for elite miles members.

About a month ago, Southwest Airlines announced its intention to start service in Milwaukee — and, today, it opened up ticket sales to over 50 destinations via six non-stop routes:

• Baltimore [3 daily]
• Kansas City [3 daily]
• Las Vegas [2 daily]
• Orlando [2 daily]
• Phoenix [1 daily]
• Tampa [1 daily]

Ticket sale start today for departures beginning November 1^st as Southwest extends its schedule through the 8th of January.

DEALS: These six new non-stop destination cities are going to enjoy introductory pricing of $35 one-way for departures in the first few weeks of November, purchased next 4 days ($49-$99 range after), while almost half the new Southwest destinations (21 of them) are priced at $100 one-way or less.

COMPETITION: Right now, the dominant carriers in Milwaukee are Midwest Airlines with 90 daily departures, and AirTran with 34 daily departures - and it appears that both these airlines are going to have to gear up for an airfare war - especially on some of the key non-stop routes.

For example, Midwest has six daily non-stops to Kansas City with a cheapest price of $104 one-way and two daily non-stops to Las Vegas at $109 one-way, and to Phoenix for $119 one-way. These prices are likely to come down sharply, in short order.

AIRFARE WAR: AirTran has already begun a preemptive strike - yesterday, it fired out $49 one-way airfares from Milwaukee to Baltimore and $65 one-way fares to Orlando - both of those cities are served with three daily non-stops.

A quick check of the more expensive business-oriented refundable airfares from Southwest on these new routes shows that AirTran is not competitive on walkup refundable pricing.

FEES: Adding more complexity to this rock bottom pricing is the fact that while Southwest does not charge a fee to check a 1st or 2nd bag, both AirTran and Midwest charge $15 each way for a 1^st checked bag and $25/$20 respectively for a 2^nd checked bag - plus, they do not compete favorably on several other fees, including phone reservations.

I will be closely watching the Milwaukee-Baltimore route - as this route is likely to have excess capacity - and it should be interesting to see who blinks first - Southwest or AirTran.