Etihad Airways is "considering its options" for adding more flights between Abu Dhabi and Australia after a new bilateral air services agreement signed on Friday increased the capacity available to Etihad and fellow United Arab Emirates carrier Emirates to fly to major Australian airports from next   October. 
The move comes as rival Qatar Airways plans to double the number of flights to and from Australia by   May through new services from its hub in Doha to Sydney and Adelaide.
Etihad offers 42 weekly return flights between the UAE and Australia, three of which are operated by partner Virgin Australia. The new bilateral air services deal will increase the capacity to 56 return services a week from   October, up seven from the prior agreement. 
Etihad last month announced it would boost capacity to and from Australia by upsizing one of its two daily Melbourne flights to its flagship A380 from next   June.
An Etihad spokesman said his airline was "considering its options for using the extra capacity" available as a result of the new bilateral agreement signed on Friday.
The rights offered under the deal are to Australia's four largest airports - Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth - with smaller airports like Adelaide, Gold Coast and Cairns not having capacity caps under the bilateral agreement.
Rival Emirates, which is a partner of Qantas, said it also welcomed the new bilateral agreement. Emirates offers 77 weekly flights from Dubai to five Australian cities. The new deal will allow it to boost flights to as many as 105 a week to Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth, which would represent a major expansion in capacity.
An Emirates spokeswoman said there were no current plans to increase the number of services between Australia and Dubai. 
"However, the airline constantly assesses the needs of its Australian passengers," she said.
Qantas and Virgin are allowed to offer up to 168 services to and from the UAE as part of the new bilateral deal, up from a previous 154. However, the pair combined currently offer just 17 weekly return services.
Infrastructure and Regional Development Minister Warren Truss said Australian travellers had benefited enormously from improved access to the global hubs of Dubai and Abu Dhabi, with over 3 million passenger journeys in the last 12 months alone.
Tourism and International Education Minister Richard Colbeck said air services were vital for increasing Australia's tourism, education, trade and investment connectivity. The number of visitors from the UAE to Australia rose by 3 per cent to 38,100 in the year ended   September 2015.