NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) - Leaders of the union representing Delta Air Lines' pilots have overwhelmingly endorsed a tentative concessions deal aimed at getting the carrier out of bankruptcy, the Wall Street Journal reported late Friday.

The paper, quoting an Air Line Pilots Association message to its members, said the 13-member governing board voted 12-1 to send the accord to its 6,000 members for a final vote, which is slated to be completed by May 31.

The $280 million-$290 million concession package, agreed to a week earlier, includes a 14 percent pay cut, the Journal said. It also gives the union a claim in the bankruptcy proceedings worth about $2.1 billion and a $650 million note should Delta, as expected, terminate its pension plan with the pilots, the paper said.

The agreement avoided a ruling from a three-judge arbitration panel that could have agreed with Delta's request to reject the existing union contract that would have imposed terms on the pilots. That would probably have led to a strike that could have permanently shut the airline.

--

Worried about your Delta One-Pass miles? Click here.