United filed for protection from creditors in December 2002

The company's restructuring plan had initially drawn objections from creditors and trade unions alike.

They were particularly critical of a plan for share incentives for United's top executives.

The airline persuaded its creditors to accept a modified plan, which will be presented to bankruptcy court soon.

Company bosses could end up owning about 10% of the restructured airline.

The president of United's pilots' union, Duane Worth, said "we're all going to be stunned by what's going to be approved over our objections".

The carrier's chief financial officer, Jake Brace, said: "We look forward to confirming the plan next week [in court] and exiting bankruptcy next month ready to compete with the strongest carriers."

United is the second-largest US carrier after American.

Its rivals Delta and Northwest both operate under bankruptcy protection, while US Airways emerged from this status in September last year.

Salaries slashed

Since filing for bankruptcy protection in December 2002, United has cut costs by $7bn, offloaded pension plans, renegotiated pay deals and slashed its workforce by 20,000 to 60,000.

A year ago pilots and flight attendants at United agreed to accept pay cuts worth $310m a year to help the carrier bounce back from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

In May 2005, the airline reported a doubling in first-quarter losses to $1.1bn, compared with a $459m loss in the previous year.

But in the same month a US court granted United permission to end its pension funds, saving United $645m a year in what was to become America's largest corporate pension default.

United said at the time that ended its pensions scheme was crucial for its survival, but unions described the move as a "devastating blow".