Union leaders reached a tentative agreement with Delta after 15 months of negotiations. The five-year contract calls for a 32.5 percent pay cut and becomes effective Dec. 1.

In return, the pilots get options to buy up to 15 percent of the company's stock.

"Our airline has been managed to the brink of bankruptcy, and the Delta pilots had to decide between two bad choices," said John Malone, chairman of the pilots union's executive council. "They chose the lesser of two evils."

Delta pilots are among the highest-paid in the nation with salaries averaging between $100,000 and $300,000 a year.

About 91 percent of eligible pilots cast ballots by phone and over the Internet over the past 10 days. A simple majority was needed to ratify the agreement. Voting ended at noon yesterday.

News of the contract's ratification sent Delta shares surging almost 6 percent, or 36 cents, in late trading. The shares ended the regular session 21 cents higher, at $6.29, on the New York Stock Exchange.

Delta has lost more than $6 billion since early 2001, during which time it has eliminated 16,000 jobs and cut the pay of other employees, including its executives. Last month, the airline reported a $651 million loss in the third-quarter.

In a memo to pilots yesterday, Delta CEO Gerald Grinstein acknowledged employees' sacrifices. He said those efforts "represent a Herculean effort to control our own destiny — a feat that is often attempted but seldom attained in our industry."

"There are no winners at this point," Grinstein wrote. "There are only people caught in the grips of a permanently changing industry and a demanding marketplace who are trying very hard, together and in good faith, to preserve careers and proud professions while helping their company survive, provide jobs and eventually grow profitably."

Analysts said the pilot concessions were vital if Delta hopes to stay out of bankruptcy court.

"It gives them a chance to fight another day," said Ray Neidl, an airline industry analyst with Calyon Securities Inc. in New York. "It's what they needed to continue their restructuring for survival."

The agreement also includes changes to work rules to increase the efficiency of pilot scheduling, a freeze on the pilots' retirement benefits plan and higher premiums on their medical insurance.

"We have bought Delta time to continue restructuring outside of the courts," Malone said. "It is now up to management to successfully execute a viable business plan."