Japan Airlines to cut pension

Shares in Japan Airlines (JAL) rose again on Tuesday after more than two-thirds of its staff agreed to pension cuts. The airline needs employees to agree to cuts in order to reduce its $3.6 bn (£2.2 bn) pension deficit and qualify for a state bail-out. JAL shares rose by 3.4 %, adding to the 31 seen on Monday. On Sunday, the Japanese government agreed to double its offer of state-funded credit to the ailing airline. JAL now has access to 200 bn yen ($2.2 of credit, although it has already made use of 55 bn yen of that. Separately, the airline applied for a government bail-out in October last year through the Enterprise Turnaround Initiative Corporation of Japan (ETIC) - a body able to draw on taxpayers' money to prop up the business while it restructures. A decision on that is due before the end of January, but the ETIC requires cost-cutting concessions including restructuring of pension arrangements. JAL is battling 1.5 trillion yen of debt, and has been hit hard by the global fall in demand for air travel.