Air Transport

British Airways is blaming low long-term interest rates after its pension deficit climbed by 5% to exceed £2 billion ($3.7 billion) by the end of its last financial year. The flag carrier puts its deficit at £2.07 billion for the year ending 31 March, a rise of £101 million on the previous year. In March the airline put forward proposals to tackle the pensions deficit – including raising the normal retirement age for flightcrew – but these have been dismissed as unacceptable by pilots’ unions. BA last week revealed a £620 million pre-tax profit for the year, up more than 20%.