JAL rescue plan in works

TOKYO, Nov. 9 (UPI) -- Japan's Transportation Ministry expects to have a package ready by this week to rescue troubled Japan Airlines, Minister Seiji Maehara said.

The package is expected by Friday when the airline is scheduled to report earnings for the first half of the fiscal year ended in September.

The rescue package is being prepared on instructions from Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, the Kyodo news agency reported. The airline is expected to report a big group loss Friday due to the global recession that affected its international revenue, the report said.

''With the release of JAL's interim earnings results approaching, we will further discuss (the rescue package) with the premise that we will not create a situation in which airplanes do not fly,'' Maehara told reporters.

The country's largest airline, facing a cash shortage, has applied for support from a government-backed corporate turnaround body, Kyodo said.

The rescue package may include a call for special legislation for mandatory cuts in JAL's high corporate pension benefits and a reduction in landing fees and aviation fuel taxes, the report said.