Virgin American, a domestic carrier known for its innovation, has paid tribute to late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs by etching one of his signature phrases on the nose of its Airbus A320 aircraft.

The phrase "Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish" was put on the plane, which started flying late last year. It's naming was the result of an internal employee naming competition.

The phrase is a nod toJobs, who used it as a motto when he delivered a commencement address at Stanford University in 2005. He gave that speech shortly after he was first diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

Jobs said that he saw those words on the back of a final edition of a publication known as The Whole Earth Catalog, and that they stuck with him. He said:

"It was their farewell message as they signed off. 'Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.' And I have always wished that for myself. And now, as you graduate to begin anew, I wish that for you. Stay hungry. Stay foolish."

Virgin America has become well-known for its uniquely named planes. Some of the names include #nerdbird, Virgin & Tonic, The 1-year-old virgin, and Air Colbert (in honor of Stephen Colbert).

The Transportation Security Administration has issued a warning for anyone travelling by air this holiday season: leave your gifts unwrapped. If you pack wrapped presents, TSA's airport screeners will rip them open and examine the contents.

It's easy to see why the TSA won't let wrapped gifts slide -- it'd be too easy for terrorists to slip threats onto airplanes. But it's not just terrorists looking to use wrapping paper to sneak things past screeners; last week screeners opened gift-wrapped packages at LAX and found 35 pounds of marijuana.

The TSA has published a "3-1-1 for Holiday Trave" guide on its website, offering travelers tips for traveling. TSA gives advice on how to dress to avoid setting off metal detectors, and even warns travelers against irreverent humor, telling them to "save jokes for after the checkpoint."

According to a spokesman for Bradley International Airport in Connecticut, smoke in a plane's bathroom forced the pilot to return only minutes after take-off.

The spokesman said that a Continental Express flight headed to Cleveland, Ohio, returned to the airport at 9:45am on Monday. No additional details were made available about the incident.

On board the plane were 49 passengers and three crew members. They were directed off the plane and returned to the terminal.

An Alaska Airlines flight travelling from Seattle to Oakland landed safely at Oakland International Airport on Monday after a bomb threat aboard the plane was called in.

Airport spokeswoman Joanne Holloway said that Alaska Airlines flight 342 was isolated on a taxiway after landing just before 8am local time. Passengers were bused to the terminal. She added that the aircraft has since been cleared and released by the Transportation Security Administration and local law enforcement.

Google announced on Thursday that it is teaming up with Virgin America to give passengers the opportunity to "test-fly" their new Chromebook computers free of charge. Virgin America passengers will be able to use the computers while onboard their flight at select airport gates from July 1 to September 30, 2011.

Flyers that check out a Chromebook will also receive a free WiFi session onboard Virgin America. Starting this week, airport gates in San Francisco, Chicago O'Hare, Boston, and Dallas Fort-Worth will include Google "Chrome Zone" lounges. Here passengers will be able to learn more about the Chromebook as well as check one out for their flight.

In addition to partnering with Virgin America, Google is also partnering with Ace Hotel in New York to offer Chromebooks in hotel guests' rooms.

Travelers interested in checking out a Chromebook for in-flight use will have to give up their credit card information for deposit purchases. The Chromebooks can then be returned at the guest's arriving gate. Google Chrome staff will also be on hand at the participating gates to assist passengers.

Two jumbo jets nearly collided on the runway at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York on Monday evening, as a Lufthansa jumbo jet speeding towards takeoff was forced to a screeching halt to avoid a catastrophic collision with an EgyptAir plane that had made a wrong turn into its path.

An air traffic controller noticed the impending disaster, yelling, "Cancel takeoff! Cancel takeoff!" The Munich-bound Lufthansa Airbus A340 was nearing a collision with an EgyptAir Boeing 777 around 6:50pm on Monay.

The pilot promptly radioed back:

"Lufthansa 411 heavy is rejecting takeoff."

The aborted liftoff came as the airline was barreling down Runway 22R, where the EgyptAir plane was perched less than a mile away. The Lufthansa plane had been cleared for takeoff just seconds before the incident, and the pilots had to slam on the brakes so hard that they were worried that they had become dangerously hot.

A collision would not have been good. The Lufthansa jet was carrying 286 passengers plus its crew, and EgyptAir declined comment, but its Boeing 777 can carry up to 346 passengers plus crew. An Airbus has a normal takeoff speed of 180mph, so if it had reached full speed a half-mile from the other plane, they had at most 10 seconds to stop the jet safely.

Flight operations throughout Asia have been heavily impacted by the 8.9-magnitude earthquake that was centered around northeast Japan. Abroad, concern is growing for the economic after effects of the disaster, which could have a long-lasting impact on Japanese airlines.

The already weak Japanese economy could worsen, with disruptions potentially further depressing growth and affecting passenger numbers. Analysts worry that tourism could also be hit. These concerns have caused airline stocks to fall sharply. Asian airlines are already struggling to absorb higher fuel prices.

JAL reports no damage to its aircraft, but is experiencing serious service disruptions. Finnair has called all flights to Japan, Air France cancelled some of its operations, and British Airways has warned of service disruptions that could last several days. All Nippon Airway, the country's largest carrier, cancelled 131 flights and diverted another 24. Tens of thousands of travellers have been affected.

According to authorities, a plane that was about to take off from a South Florida airport was returned to the gate after a passenger found a bomb threat written in a magazine.

The Broward County Sheriff's Office says that the note indicated that there was a bomb aboard the Spirit Airlines flight bound for Atlanta taking off from Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.

Authorities received a call about the bomb threat around 10pm ET. As a precaution, a bomb squad swept the plane.

With more of the public becoming outraged by security screening, some of the United States' largest airports are considering whether or not to hire private contractors to replace the Transportation Security Administrator.

So far, sixteen airports have made the switch since 2002. An Orlando airport approved the change but still needs to select a contractor, and several others are said to be seriously considering going the private route. According to airport managers, efficiency problems related to the bureaucracy of the TSA system is the top reason for making the switch, rather than concerns about costs.

Airports must submit requests for private screeners to the TSA. TSA pays for the cost of screening, and must approve of the company to which a private contract is awarded.

The American Federation of Government Employees, the TSA's labor union, questions the merits of privitization, saying that it is an ineffective "patchwork quilt."

Getting to access the internet while on an airplane is generally reserved for those with extra cash to blow. It's not cheap, especially when added to all of the other fees airlines charge these days. Google, however, is giving it away for free this holiday season in order to promote their Chrome browser.

Google announced that it will sponsor free Wi-Fi on Virgin America, Delta and AirTran to end the dark ages when "flying home for the holidays meant disconnecting for several hours until you touched down at your destination."