FlightRaja gets $5 mn funding

Bangalore-based travel services and mobile ticketing company FlightRaja has announced that it has received an investment of $5 million from venture capital firm NEA Indo-US Ventures, based in the US and India.

FlightRaja has also announced the renaming of their brand to 'Via'. The company's website will also be renamed www.viajustgo.com.

Via offers SMS-based mobile booking for all airlines, kiosk-based booking and online services for travel partners. The company claims to have travel network spread across 290 cities with over 3,000 agents.

According to Via CEO Vinay Gupta, the $5 mn investment will enable the company to expand the existing services beyond airline bookings.

"We will also use the money to train our staff, for sales and operational expansion including setting up of new offices in Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata and Hyderabad," he said.

Via also plans to increase its existing headcount of 80 to about 140 in the next two months. The company also plans to foray into international flight booking, car rental services, railway and bus bookings, and holiday packages in the near future.

While the details of stake-holding were not discussed, Gupta said that a major stake continues to remain with the six founding members.

The ten-month-old company is believed to transact business worth Rs 2 crore daily, selling nearly 5,000 tickets per day.