An official release said that the Aircraft Acquisition Committee of the ministry of civil aviation, which met on Thursday, allowed two scheduled operators, Jet Airways and Sahara Airlines, to induct 10 aircraft in the Boeing 737-200 and 800 series.

Two more aircraft of Boeing 737-400 category had also been allowed to be inducted on replacement basis, it said. The non-scheduled operators were permitted to induct 13 new aircraft and 5 helicopters. Most of the non-scheduled operators operate smaller aircraft such as King Air and Beachcraft. The new helicopters include Bell and Alloutte.

The committee gave its permission for the revival of ModiLuft and East West Airlines. However, the permission for ModiLuft to operate has been given subject to the condition that the airline willadhere and abide by the recently announced foreign equity guidelines.

The East West Airlines' permission was also given on conditional basis, the release added. With the government's decision, the number of Boeing aircraft with the private airline operators would go up to 35. At present, the private scheduled operators are operating with 25 Boeing aircraft.

The fleet strength of the non-scheduled operators would increase from 38 to 51 for small aircraft and from 25 to 30 for helicopters. The green signal for acquisition of new aircraft from the Seattle-based Boeing is being interpreted as a move to step-up business deals with American companies in the aftermath of economic sanctions.

The permission for new aircraft will help create additional capacity in the domestic air passenger market. The revival of the two private operators, ModiLuft and East West Airlines, will depend on their ability to garner funds to finance their revival schemes, experts felt. ModiLuft has recently launched a $50 millionpreference share issue, proceeds from which will be used to fund the airline's revival. Both ModiLuft and East West Airlines have been grounded for the past two years.