One thing missing from the above posts is that debt has been reduced by £744M since the beginning of the year
Irrelevant - debt repayments are planned when the aircraft are purchased; pension defecits are not planned.
Equally you could argue that £x has been spent on fuel, but that too is central to the operation.
The key to the argument that it is deferred pay and - irrelevant of whether or not BA management could foresee the eventual cost to them with rising lifespans and lowering interest rates - it has been fairly promised and negotiated by past pay settlements.
Although I take issue with the many misleading arguments presented in this and other threads, such as the fact that many of the younger generation do not have the pensions that NAPS offers and that it is protected behind a unionised negotiation which impacts upon the competitive edge of the company - it is still something that was willingly promised from 1981 until around 2003 when it closed to new members, and therefore must be settled by negotiation taking into account the fact that it was not only promised, but many, through being locked into seniority, have planned their retirement upon those contractual promises.