Oct. 29 (Bloomberg) -- Japan Airlines Corp. will start on a third restructuring plan in less than three months as it seeks government funds to avert collapse.

The carrier will apply for funding from the government- affiliated Enterprise Turnaround Initiative Corp., Transport Minister Seiji Maehara told reporters in Tokyo. A plan filed today by a government-appointed taskforce will act as a reference, he added.

JAL has sought support from the government and lenders as it heads for a fourth loss in five years on plunging international travel. The carrier’s original turnaround plan was rejected by Maehara and lenders last month because it didn’t make enough cuts.

Enterprise Turnaround “will start from zero” in its assessment of JAL, Maehara said. The government is still to decide whether it will give any money to the airline, he added.

Enterprise Turnaround was set up by the government and private companies on Oct. 16 with 1.6 trillion yen ($18 billion) in funds.

To contact the reporters on this story: Chris Cooper in Tokyo at ccooper1@bloomberg.net; Kiyotaka Matsuda in Tokyo at kmatsuda@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: October 29, 2009 03:51 EDT