Great question Artificial Horizon, and one that could cause a few red faces to have answered. If I were sat on a final salary pension now, and could protect it by barring new entrants it wouldn't be a tough choice.
This pension crisis came on the radar about 15 years ago, and a large number of small companies realised that they would get badly caught out by final salary pensions - certainly my own company moved us over to Money Purchase schemes at the time and gave us our existing pension rights to put into the mp scheme.
The larger companies appear to have deluded themselves at the time. They believed the stock market would recover back to the old days of 9%+ growth (they used to put predicted values at 6%,9%, and 12% growth rates). It was either that or simply being too afraid to go to the Stock Exchange and explain a multi-million (or billion) defecit in the pension fund that needed plugging knowing that it would wipe out the share prices and the institutions would get on their backs. Look at the pension fund beginning with "E" - they set up legal action to recover £3bn+ (?) from the former directors - madness!
Now the time has come when they have to bite the bullet, and it will take a few years to do. I followed the link to BA Can Pay, but I suspect the stock market won't let it, or all the others. This is going to be gradual, and for everyone, but I storngly suggest it is inevitable - they simply cannot afford to pay for how it was, and we need to save more (gulp!)
As for the property issue - well it's the same with investment trusts - the current government is taking away some of their tax advanatges so we have to save even more.
So for those who are coming up to retirement now on a final salary scheme - you are so lucky and I wish you all a long and happy retirement. Please think about the rest of us having to ponder an uncertain future :-)