Click, buy and fly

It's rather late in the day, but state-owned carrier Indian has finally made its way into the e-ticketing club. So if you are looking to fly Indian, you can just log on to their website www.indianairlines.in, book your ticket using a credit card or direct debit from your bank account (Indian has tie-ups with PSU banks like SBI, PNB, Bank of India and Union Bank of India) and print your itinerary receipt.

Having done this, all that you will need while checking-in is the itinerary receipt and a photo identification (your passport or driving licence will do). The only downer is that this service is available only for travel between metros like Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad and Bangalore. So all of you looking to travel to non-metros on Indian and wanting to book online will have to wait a while.

Bore no more

It looks like airlines are taking extra care to keep you from being bored on board. Based on the findings of a survey conducted by Skytrax -- one of the better known passenger survey companies based in the UK that has named IFE systems as one of the highly influential factors in the passenger's evaluation of the overall travel experience and airline choice -- Emirates has revamped its IFE ahead of the busy December and January months.

So, what's on board? For starters new releases from Hollywood like Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, Barnyard, Flicka, The Ant Bully, Stormbreaker, Zoom and others.

Disney favourites like Finding Nemo and Beauty and The Beast to keep the little ones tight and quiet in their seats. You could also get live BBC headlines, hone your gaming skills by playing one of the 40 interactive games, watch popular television shows and see the take-off and landing live on the external cameras. Still bored?

Plan ahead

If you're the kind who likes to err on the right side of caution and likes to plan your trip to the last minute, here's a feature that you'll certainly appreciate.

Also if you're travelling to Costa Rica (lucky you!), log on to www.govisitcostarica.com and use their travel distance chart that provides you with the exact distance in kilometres between two destinations in Costa Rica and also the time that you'll take if you travel by bus, car and even a plane.

Essentially because travelling in Costa Rica is not so easy though the country is small. By creating this Travel Time section, govisitcostarica lets potential travellers plan their trip precisely, with proper travel times. So, happy holidaying!

Another direct

Indian's launched a direct flight to Patna. The airline will fly an Airbus A320 three times a week -- Monday, Wednesday and Friday -- between Delhi and Patna. This flight is in addition to Indian's already existing flight to Patna via Ranchi.