The special contribution to the airline’s £7.3bn ‘new airways’ pension scheme follows a £560m payment last year.
A further £50m contribution will be made if the company reports sufficient cash in its preliminary results next year.
BA is making annual contributions of £131m until 2016 to clear the remaining shortfall, while the trustees are switching out of bonds into equities as part of a dynamic risk reduction strategy.
To aid diversification, the trustees have shifted 2% of its equities allocation into property and are investigating emerging market bonds, infrastructure and leverage loans.
The value of the more mature ‘airways’ pension scheme swelled from £6.5bn to £6.6bn due to a large increase in the value of index-linked gilts, which comprise 58.8% of assets, although the scheme is looking for long-term opportunities in alternative asset classes.
The two schemes’ liabilities, as a percentage of BA’s equity market value, stood at 547% at the end of June, according to Pension Capital Strategies.
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