The deal - which pilots argued was needed to bring their salaries into line with pilots on comparable premier airlines - gives cockpit crew immediate rises of up to 9 per cent, followed by further rises of 2 to 3 per cent in May 2012.

Currently, Cathay Pacific pilots on the common B-scale pay system earn between HK$33,179 for a newly recruited second officer to a maximum of HK$144,000 a month for a pilot that has held the rank of captain for 19years.

More than 90 per cent of almost 1,600 Hong Kong-based union members voted in the poll, which ended this week. Before voting, they gave their union a mandate through an earlier vote to declare contract compliance action if a satisfactory pay deal was not agreed. This would mean working to the exact terms of their contracts, or a work-to-rule.

The timing of the voting deadline for the pay offer meant a work-to-rule could have been invoked to disrupt flights during the Lunar New Year holiday, one of the airline's busiest times of year.

A similar threat by the 5,800-member Flight Attendants' Union to stage a work-to-rule over the Lunar New Year holiday in protest at a 4.5per cent pay rise for cabin crew was dropped only last week, although their dispute with management over pay remains unresolved.

The pilots' 'yes' vote means their union now cannot declare contract compliance over pay for the duration of the deal, which covers more than two years.

Dennis Dolan, the union's general secretary, said: 'We are all pleased the pay deal was ratified, but it wasn't an overwhelming ratification. There are some pilots who feel it wasn't enough and there are other issues to be addressed. But we feel these negotiations have given us momentum to go forward and negotiate on other issues.'

Dolan said the union was unhappy that the pay deal did not equally cover all pilots - senior pilots got smaller rises - and said further talks with management were needed to address issues over housing and roster practices.

Yet it was a 'major achievement' for a pay deal to be reached covering not only Hong Kong-based pilots, but also Cathay Pacific pilots based in Canada and Australia, where separate unions backed the deal, he said.

'This is a unique situation. This is probably the first employer of three trade unions from different countries sitting down and working out a deal all at the same time. It is a first in worldwide aviation.'

Dolan said his union wanted to prevent future confrontation. 'We want to try to avoid negotiating in an environment where there is a threat of contract compliance,' he said.

A Cathay Pacific spokeswoman said: 'We are pleased with the result. We believed it was a very good package and it was good to see such a substantial vote in support of it.

'The overwhelming vote in favour of the package has enabled us to achieve our aim of remunerating our pilots in line with the market. The result also presents the company with a good opportunity to continue to co-operate with our pilots to make progress on matters of mutual interest.'

High fliers

Cathay pilots earn from HK$33,179 a month to HK$144,000 a month

A total of 75 per cent of Cathay's pilots voted to accept a pay rise that will mean increases over two years of up to: 12.3%