BA agrees deal with unions on pensions

The news sent shares in the airline up 3.7 percent by 3:43 p.m. British time.

BA said on Tuesday that the proposals, whereby members would raise their contributions to maintain their existing benefits, would maintain the airline's current contributions at 330 million pounds a year and avoid the closure of the schemes.

However, the proposals will still need to be accepted by the trustees and the pensions regulator. BA is due to present a recovery plan to the regulator by the end of June.

In December, the company announced its pension deficit had ballooned to 3.7 billion pounds, more than double the amount from a year earlier.

The deal is unrelated to the separate dispute BA is having with the Unite trade union over pay and staffing levels. Most BA cabin crew are planning seven days of strikes before Easter, which has political ramifications in Britain, where a general election must be held by June.

(Reporting by Rosalba O'Brien, editing by Will Waterman)