Pilots for Delta and Northwest airlines are counting on a big payday as the companies make their final approach in a proposed merger to create the world's largest carrier.

The boards of both airlines could meet as early as Wednesday to formally consider the deal, which would create a globe-spanning airline headquartered in Atlanta with unparalleled access to routes in the United States, Europe, South America, Africa and Asia.

An announcement is widely anticipated Wednesday or Thursday, setting the stage for consideration by the U.S. Department of Justice, which would have to approve the deal. A Delta-Northwest combination could spark further consolidation in the financially strapped airline industry, which on Tuesday saw oil top the $100-a-barrel mark.

"It will be one hell of an airline," said Minneapolis-based airline consultant Terry Trippler.

The deal still could fall apart, or it could be shot down by the companies' boards. The 11,000 pilots for the two airlines are key to the final deal. The airlines want to ensure their support before moving ahead with a deal to avoid pitfalls of past industry mergers.

The Associated Press reported late Tuesday that two people close to talks say the deal is in "serious jeopardy" because of an inability by the pilots unions from both companies to reach an agreement on blending their seniority lists.

The people asked the AP not to be named because of the sensitive stage of the talks. They say the pilots unions have agreed on a comprehensive joint contract, but they are unable to agree on how seniority would work under a combined carrier.

US Airways and AmericaWest did not get pre-merger agreements from their pilots before they combined in 2005. Today, those pilots still are working under separate seniority lists and contracts, weighing down full integration of the companies' operations.

There were indications earlier Tuesday that Delta and Northwest pilots stand to profit handsomely for their cooperation in a merger plan.

A longtime Delta pilot briefed on the talks said the plan created by union negotiators would give each pilot a $50,000 to $100,000 stake in the new company, but only if pilot unions for both airlines ratify the agreement.

That would amount to up to $1 billion, or 5 percent to 7 percent of the value of the new company, which would be paid out either in cash or stock.

That is a huge incentive, the pilot said, especially after taking pay cuts during Delta's bankruptcy. The carrier emerged from Chapter 11 protection last spring.

"The pilots wanted to use their cooperation and influence to recuperate lost wages and benefits in the bankruptcy," the Delta pilot said.

Salaries for the Northwest pilots would rise 10 percent to 15 percent to bring them up to par with Delta pilots.

Meanwhile, Delta pilots would get concessions on seniority, the pilot said. Seniority determines which planes pilots qualify to fly and, therefore, their pay rate.

Delta pilots flying the airline's biggest jets have fewer years on the job, on average, than their counterparts at Northwest. They have feared Northwest pilots with more years in the air could bump them out of these coveted cockpits.

But under the agreement reached by union negotiators, a Delta pilot hired in 1988 might have the same seniority as a Northwest pilot hired in 1985, the pilot said. Delta pilots also could get a very modest hourly pay raise in the deal, the pilot said.

Both groups want to take advantage of the global reach of their combined airline and look good compared with their competition, the pilot said.

He said US Airways and America West pilots still are "fighting with hatred" over their placement on the seniority list.

The next step for the pilots unions is for their elected officials to agree to the terms reached by the negotiators. If union officials like the deal, they would send it to their pilot membership for a vote.

The vote to ratify that agreement probably would come after a merger is announced.

Trippler, the airline analyst, operates in the same metro area where Northwest is based. He said he thinks the deal is done: His home state will lose Northwest headquarters, based in suburban Minneapolis.

"I'm telling people here, 'Get over it,' " Trippler said. "The Fortune 500 company is gone. The headquarters is gone. The red tail [the Northwest insignia] is gone.

"But the critical thing is the hub, and we will save the hub."

Trippler said he expects all of the main Delta and Northwest hubs to survive, and he predicted there will be minimal job cuts initially.

Both airlines slimmed down considerably when they went into bankruptcy a few years back. They came out of reorganization as much leaner carriers, he said, setting the stage for a merger with few cuts in the offing.

— Staff writer Russell Grantham contributed to this article.