BCD Travel has signed an agreement with Qantas Airways to participate in the Qantas Channel. The agreement applies to all individual global distribution system bookings, and BCD now is finalizing required agreements with individual GDS’s. The Qantas Channel provides travel agents who sign up for it with access to a wider range of fares and content sourced from the Qantas Distribution Platform. The airline intends to use the International Air Transport Association’s (IATA’s) new distribution capability (NDC) to connect to GDS’s and online booking tools. Under a multi-year deal, BCD will work with Qantas and participating GDS’s to leverage the Qantas Distribution Platform to improve the travel experience for mutual clients and travelers. One of the benefits of participating in the Qantas Channel is that it will let BCD clients book reservations on Qantas without paying the airline’s new channel booking fee. Set to go into effect on Aug. 1, the fee is being imposed on all bookings made outside the Qantas Channel.