Leading aircraft maker Boeing on Thursday welcomed the recent moves in the Indian aviation sector to allow private domestic carriers to fly abroad and said it would provide a major boost to the aviation market.

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It would also lead to a significant increase in capacity of airlines and help Air-India and Indian Airlines to fetch better value in any future privatisation, Boeing senior vice president (sales) Dinesh Keskar said.

He said the Union Cabinet decisions and the recent recommendations of the Naresh Chandra committee on civil aviation for 49 per cent private participation in Air-India and Indian Airlines were momentous in the history of the country's civil aviation sector.

"It will change the tourism potential, bring in more foreign exchange and also allow more business to be transacted. There will be a bigger demand to travel to and from India," Keskar told a news conference in New Delhi.

The Union Cabinet on Wednesday permitted private domestic carriers to operate daily services to and from Sri Lanka connecting six metros -- Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore and Hyderabad --  apart from the 18 tourist destinations which have been proposed.

It had also approved the private carriers Jet Airways, Air Sahara and Air Deccan to operate flights to Association of South East Asian Nations.

"It is absolutely crucial for Air-India and Indian Airlines to choose the right size of aircraft to take on their growing number of adversaries," he said, adding Boeing 777-200 ER (extended range) was suited to their needs.