In a bid to attract coveted elite frequent fliers from other airlines, Virgin America on Tuesday extended its status match program.

Virgin America first introduced the program last November. Certain American and United road warriors holding elite status were matched to Virgin's Silver or Gold Elevate status. (Read more: Virgin America Woos Elite American, United Fliers)

The program was scheduled to end April 30. But Virgin has extended it until June 30 and is inviting Southwest Airlines elites to participate.

Consumers can rest easy that airfares will continue to be advertised with taxes and mandatory fees, as the Supreme Court earlier this week rejected a challenge by three airlines looking to overturn an existing rule.

(Read more: Supreme Court Won't Hear Airline Appeal of Ad Rule)

The rule, instituted in January 2012, requires airlines to advertise airfares on their websites and other locations containing all mandatory taxes and fees, instead of simply the base fare. The difference between an advertised base fare and total fare that a traveler ends up paying is often significant.

But the court ruling Wednesday still leaves unanswered questions about those pesky, optional add-on fees — such as priority boarding — that further jacks up an overall ticket price.

A tiny Samoa airline is offering a new reason to drop extra weight before your next trip: Tickets sold not by the seat, but by kilogram.

Samoa Air planned on Wednesday to start pricing its first international flights based on the weight of its passengers and their bags. Depending on the flight, each kilogram (2.2 pounds) costs 93 cents to $1.06.

(Read more: Spirit Airlines' 'No Hoax Here!' Airfare Sale)

That means the average American man weighing 195 pounds with a 35 pound bag would pay $97 to go one-way between Apia, Samoa, and Pago Pago, American Samoa. Competitors typically charge $130 to $140 round trip for similar routes.

Love it or hate it, it's April Fools' Day. And several airlines are joining the fun with press releases and Facebook posts containing humorous spoofs — some with a dose of reality.

(Read more: Vertical Airline Seating: April Fools or Future Reality?)

Virgin Atlantic posted on its blog that the airline would introduce the world's first glass-bottomed jet on an Airbus A320 serving domestic routes in the UK. And Richard Branson himself blogged separately about it saying, "I can't wait to experience the first flight for myself with my family and other natural born explorers."

The dose of reality here? Delta Air Lines in January introduced an Apple iPad app called Glass Bottom Jet, which allows fliers to view points of interest for landmarks they're flying over on an interactive Google map. (Read more: Delta Debuts App With Interactive 'Glass Bottom Jet' Map)

More airlines and airports are participating in the Transportation Security Administration's PreCheck program.

United Airlines on Wednesday announced eligible passengers now have access to PreCheck's expedited security lanes at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport. PreCheck lanes also opened for United passengers in Austin on March 19, with the service expanding to Memphis, Nashville and Raleigh-Durham later this spring.

A judge on Wednesday approved AMR Corp's plan to merge with US Airways Group, a step toward creating the world's largest airline.

AMR, parent of American Airlines and in bankruptcy since November 2011, must still construct a formal restructuring plan incorporating the merger that meets court and creditor approval before the airline can emerge from bankruptcy.

American Airlines announced the plan to combine with US Airways last month, a deal that also requires regulatory approval.

In a crowded Manhattan courtroom on Wednesday, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Sean Lane declined to approve, for now, a planned $19.9 million severance package for Tom Horton, AMR's outgoing chief executive.

Lane said he was uncertain as to whether the severance package requires his approval at all, or whether the matter is more appropriate for inclusion in AMR's formal restructuring plan.

That plan, which all debtors in bankruptcy must propose, will lay out how creditors will get paid back, and will require creditor approval.

The fate of the severance payment is unclear. The version of the merger agreement that earned the judge's approval may have to be amended to remove it.

Jack Butler, a lawyer for AMR's creditors' committee, said it was too early to tell how the parties will deal with the severance issue.

"The companies said they were prepared to amend the merger agreement in any respect, and I expect that there will be an amendment," Butler said after the hearing.

AMR filed for bankruptcy citing untenable labor costs after years of futile attempts to negotiate cost savings from its unionized workforce.

It had been the last major U.S. carrier to go through bankruptcy, after its competitors underwent the same process in the last decade.

Wednesday's approval was a key moment in AMR's 16-month odyssey through reorganization under Chapter 11 of the bankruptcy code. Stephen Karotkin, a lawyer for AMR, called Wednesday's hearing a "watershed event" that moves AMR a step closer to exiting bankruptcy.

The airline began its bankruptcy process flatly opposed to merging while still in bankruptcy, but eventually relented to pressure from its creditors' committee, represented by Butler and Jay Goffman, both lawyers at Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom.

US Airways Chief Executive Doug Parker wooed AMR aggressively, taking advantage of AMR's labor relations problems to appeal to its unions.

US Airways hammered out a tentative deal with the unions last April, before formal merger talks between the two companies' management teams had gone into full swing.

The creditors' committee eventually convinced AMR to adopt a protocol to evaluate a merger, and played a large role in analyzing the net savings and benefits from a merger.

AMR's current shareholders are expected to receive a 3.5 percent equity stake in the new firm, which would make it one of the few major bankruptcies in which equity holders earn some recovery.

The Skadden legal team advising the creditors' committee also played a central part in negotiating the new management structure, including the details of Horton's severance package.

Parker will serve as CEO of the combined carrier, while Horton, who became AMR's CEO when it filed for bankruptcy, will serve as chairman of the airline through the first annual meeting of shareholders. After that Parker will take on the chairman role.

The merger is expected to close in the third quarter.

The case is In re AMR Corp et al, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of New York, No. 11-15463.

Travelers often complain bitterly about paying extra for Internet access when staying in hotels, and now the big brands are beginning to respond.

InterContinental Hotels Group, which owns several hotel brands, including Holiday Inn, Crowne Plaza and InterContinental, is promising free Internet access worldwide to 71 million members of its loyalty program.

"We've done a survey that showed 43 percent of guests say that they won't stay in a hotel if it doesn't offer free Wi-Fi, so we know it's an issue and we know it for ourselves," CEO Richard Solomons told "Squawk on the Street" on Wednesday.

Solomons said while not charging for Internet service means potentially missing out on revenue, customers will want to stay at IHG hotels more — with the free amenity. "Being able to offer something consistently across the world actually means that we'll be able to attract more guests," Solomons said. "We absolutely see a net revenue upside from this."

(Read more: Should Hotel Wi-Fi Always Be Free?)

The question about whether passengers should be allowed to keep their smartphones and tablets on during takeoffs and landings is not up to the airlines, said Doug Parker, who will be CEO of the new American Airlines after the US Airways merger.

(Read More: US Airways-AA CEO: No Airfare Hikes Due to Merger)

"This is an FAA issue. Once the FAA tells us it's not a safety issue, then it will go away," Parker told "Squawk Box" on Wednesday. "I'm not the expert on this safety issue. My understanding is that it's being re-looked. And I think it should be re-looked."

Over the weekend, The New York Times reported that the Federal Aviation Administration hopes to relax the rules for portable devices—but not for cellphones—by the end of the year.

Parker admitted, "Sometimes I forget to turn [my phone] off. … Flight attendants have had to remind me at times."

"It's a difficult customer service issue," he added, saying that flight attendants are required by FAA regulations to ask passengers to turn off their electronic devices before taking off and landing.

Case in point, actor Alec Baldwin was kicked off an American Airlines flight in 2011 after he refused to turn off his iPad.

Meanwhile, US Airways is looking at allowing pilots to use iPads in the cockpit during flights to replace the heavy paper flight manuals.

American Airlines said it was the first to get FAA approval to outfit pilots with iPads for this purpose and after testing has been doing so since September.

United Continental has already been outfitting its pilots with iPads for this purpose.

As voice-recognition technology including Apple's Siri software advances, one online travel agency has released the first-ever iPhone and iPad app that allows users to search for flights by speaking their request, instead of typing it out.

CheapAir.com released its new mobile app Tuesday featuring a voice-activated flight search function. The talk-to-search app can be used on several devices including the iPhone 4S and iPad 3. The app is available free from Apple's app store.

(Read more: Can You Trust Online Travel Search Results?)