Author: Dawn Gilbertson, USA TODAY

A mother-son adventure uncovered some of the most interesting spots and ways to travel the Windy City.

United will start serving Nice, France; Palermo, Italy; and Curacao. The airline is also adding Chicago-Zurich flights.

Tickets for Southwest’s new Hawaii flights, including nonstop service from California to the Big Island, go on sale Thursday for as low as $99.

The European low-fare carrier will end flights from the East Coast to Dublin on Sept. 15. Service from Hamilton, Ontario, is also being axed.

United Airlines now requires pilots not to drink 12 hours before reporting to work. The FAA minimum is eight hours.

USA TODAY took seven Spirit Airlines flights in five days to test the budget airline’s fledgling turnaround. The trip went off with few hitches.

The bat was flying through the cabin on a 6 a.m. flight from Charlotte to Newark. Someone captured it and put it in the bathroom, one passenger said.

Allegiant has added Allegiant Extra seats on flights out of Los Angeles. For a fee, passengers get extra legroom, priority boarding and a drink.

The flight attendant was bitten on the hand during a flight from Dallas to Greensboro, North Carolina, and required five stitches.