By the narrowest of margins - 50.5 percent - the pilots at bankrupt Comair approved a concessionary contract that cuts wages by a total of $17.3 million each year.

The Comair unit of the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) did not endorse the new pact, which extends the current contract by four years, but it did submit the company proposal to the membership for a vote.

A unit of bankrupt Delta Air Lines [DALQ], Comair was told to reduce its costs if it were to continue to provide a feed for Delta.

Under the new agreement, the average hourly wage for a five-year captain of a 70-seat RJ will be $64, down from $74. The average hourly wage for a five-year captain of a 50- seat RJ will be $62 compared to $68 under the earlier contract. The new agreement sets one pay grade for first officers regardless of aircraft type. A five-year first officer will earn $36 an hour compared to the previous $39 for a 50 seater or $44 for a 70 seater.

Under the agreement, the company will no longer provide a match for the pilots' 401(k) plans. The retirement contribution was one of the benefits the union won in its 89-day strike against Comair in 2001.

The carrier has reached an agreement with its mechanics that will soon be submitted to the membership for a vote. Comair and its flight attendants are set to resume negotiations on a proposed $9 million annual pay cut. The flight attendants had been resisting company efforts to negotiate a new wage scale. Comair had threatened to have its bankruptcy court judge void its labor contract if the union would not agree to the company's terms.