Travel News – Sears Tower Balcony and Hotel, Fly Standing, Exploding Breast Implants, Yemeni Crash Survivor, Naked Flyer, Flying Mechanic, TSA Screener Arrested

There are two stories about the Sears Tower in the news this week. The first is a nightmare for people with vertigo… like me.

Sears Tower unveils 103rd floor glass balconies

Visitors to the Sears Tower’s new glass balconies all seem to agree: The first step is the hardest.

“It’s like walking on ice,” said Margaret Kemp, of Bishop, Calif., who said her heart was still pounding even after stepping away from the balcony. “That first step you take — ‘am I going down?”‘

And in other news about the Sears Tower… Talk about a room with a view, this hotel should offer a pretty great.

America’s tallest building to get a new ‘green’ luxury hotel

America’s tallest building – Sears Tower in Chicago – will get a $350 million facelift and a new luxury hotel. The 110-story structure, soon to be re-named Willis Tower, will see almost half of its stories (50, to be precise) occupied by the new hotel which will be powered by the building’s new high-power wind turbines and solar panels.

On your feet … flying at 30,000 feet

The next time someone jokes about planes being so full that airlines will start selling standing-room tickets, don’t laugh.

At least two carriers, one in Europe and one in Asia, are seriously considering it.

Spring Airlines, a 4-year-old carrier that calls itself China’s first low-cost airline, is seeking permission from that country’s aviation regulators to reconfigure its planes to allow some stand-up “seats.” Standing passengers would pay less than their conventionally seated fellow travelers.

When size F silicone breast implants explode, it just a good thing no one was killed.

Silicone breast explodes upon landing at Los Angeles airport

Here is one you don’t hear every day – exploding breast implants (partially) caused by flying.

Irena D. was on her way from Moscow to Los Angeles on an unnamed airline.

When she boarded the plane, she was not feeling too well, but things really got out of hand when she stepped off the plane and collapsed. Apparently, one of her size F silicone implants had ruptured.

The only good news that came out of the recent crash of the Yemeni plane was the survivor of one child. Original reports about the child being a 5 year-old boy were incorrect.

Teenage survivor of Yemeni plane crash ‘doing well’

The teenage girl who survived the Comoros plane crash by clinging to a piece of debris is recovering well in hospital. Bahia Bakari, a 13-year-old Franco-Comoran who lives in Paris, escaped with only a fractured collarbone and cuts to her face after the Yemenia Airbus A310-300 carrying 153 people plunged into the Indian Ocean at 2amyesterday .

Bahia’s father, Kassim Bakari, told France’s RTL radio in Paris that he had spoken to his daughter, who can barely swim, about the moments after the crash.

“She couldn’t feel anything and found herself in the water. She heard people speaking around her but she couldn’t see anyone in the darkness,” he said. “She’s a very timid girl, I never thought she would escape like that.

What’s worse than sitting behind a crying baby on a flight?

A passenger stripped naked during a US Airways flight and resisted a flight attendant’s efforts to cover him with a blanket before two off-duty law enforcement officers on board subdued and handcuffed him, authorities said Wednesday.

When they tell you that your flight will be delayed because of mechanical problems, this is is the guy you want on your plane.

Passenger fixes faulty airliner

Passengers on Thomas Cook flight TCX9641 from Menorca were told to expect an eight-hour wait while an engineer was flown out from the UK. One passenger then identified himself as a qualified aircraft engineer and offered to try to remedy the fault. He was successful, and the plane landed in Glasgow only 35 minutes late.

Police arrest TSA agent for avoiding screening before boarding plane in Newark Airport

Police arrested a Transportation Security Administration agent Friday morning after she avoided pre-boarding screening and boarded an airplane at Newark Liberty International Airport, a spokesperson for TSA said.

Wanda Weems, 45, of Newark, boarded Continental Flight 1011, bound for Houston, Friday morning but neither she nor her luggage was screened by authorities, officials said.

Other useful or interesting articles:

• Heading to the Airport? Use This Checklist Before You Go
• Statue of Liberty gets her view back