Oct. 29 (Bloomberg) -- Japan Airlines Corp.’s government- appointed restructuring panel will submit a plan today as the carrier seeks a fourth state bailout since 2001 to avert collapse.

The panel will hand the plan to Transport Minister Seiji Maehara at 3:30 p.m. in Tokyo, the ministry said in a statement today. Maehara will speak to the press at 3:45 p.m.

JAL rose as much as 7.1 percent in Tokyo trading after the Nikkei newspaper said Maehara may introduce legislation for a turnaround plan that includes state-backed loans and pension cuts. JAL is seeking support from the government and lenders as it heads for a fourth loss in five years on plunging international travel.

“The government is going to force cuts in JAL’s pensions,” said Mitsushige Akino, who oversees the equivalent of $660 million in assets in Tokyo at Ichiyoshi Investment Management Co. “The carrier isn’t going bankrupt but it’s very similar.”

JAL gained the most since Oct. 21, and was up 4.5 percent at 117 yen as of 1:21 p.m. on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

Nothing has been decided on the restructuring, said JAL spokeswoman Sze Hunn Yap.

Pension Cuts

JAL is negotiating with retirees and employees to cut pension payouts, possibly by more than half, to reduce its obligations.

More than 3,000 retirees intended to vote against a cut, according to an unofficial tally on a Web site run by the Committee to Consider the Revision of JAL’s Pension Scheme. Two- thirds of JAL’s approximately 9,000 retirees would need to vote in favor of a change for it to be accepted under current laws.

JAL has asked banks to write off or convert 250 billion yen ($2.8 billion) into equity, said a person familiar with the matter who declined to be identified because the talks are private. The carrier had 1.44 trillion yen in interest-bearing debts at the end of March.

The Tokyo-based carrier is also considering selling a stake to either Delta Air Lines Inc. or AMR Corp.’s American Airlines, the world’s two largest carriers.

American has proposed a deepening of ties with JAL as it seeks to keep the airline in the Oneworld alliance, a person with knowledge of the plan said yesterday. Delta is a member of the rival SkyTeam airline group.

Public broadcaster NHK also reported that JAL will seek support from the government-affiliated Enterprise Turnaround Initiative Corp. as early as today, without saying where it obtained the information.

To contact the reporter on this story: Chris Cooper in Tokyo at ccooper1@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: October 29, 2009 00:37 EDT