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.

A Yemenia Airways flight was nearing Comoros, an island nation in the Indian Ocean (off the coast of Mozambique) when it crashed into the sea yesterday — there had been 153 passengers and crew members aboard the Airbus A310-300 — and no signs of survivors.

Then someone spotted a child - described as a toddler — who was then rescued. No immediate word on the youngster’s medical condition other than the child has been hospitalized.

Our thoughts are with the families of those on board.

UPDATE: The surviving child was 13-years old (as opposed to the toddler of the initial reports) — none the less miraculous, though…

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.