The Philippines' air negotiations team is on a roll.

After signing a new air services agreement with Qatar, the negotiating team is planning to negotiate a similar air deal with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to expand air services.

“By end of the month, we will be sitting with the United Arab Emirates to expand our air services agreement,” Tourism Secretary Ace Durano said.

Durano said the Philippine panel hopes to conclude the air accord with UAE by the end of January.

Tourism department is a member of the Philippine air panel, which is chaired by the Department of Transportation and Communication.

In 2008, the Philippine air panel has inked almost ten agreements with various countries, increasing the maximum number of flights that both local and counterparty countries' commercial airlines could mount.

The proactive effort to engage in more air negotiations is a turnaround policy compared to previous years when there were almost no negotiations.

The aviation industry, highly regulated through bilateral air deals, impacts overseas Filipino workers who travel in droves to various parts of the globe, mostly by air.

Availability of flights to and from the Philippines and its over 7,000 islands also affect the prospects of the local tourism industry.

Connecting the Philippines and Europe, a rich source of foreign tourists, are two of the largest airlines, Qatar Airlines of Qatar and Emirates Airlines of UAE, Durano said.

Durano said the just concluded air air services expansion agreement with Qatar would add 30 additional flights between the two countries each week.

Qatar Airlines bring European tourists from the Philippines via Doha.

The other airline that serves the European tourist market is Emirates, via Dubai.