Cathay Pacific has offered its pilots pay rises of up to 12 percent after they threatened to work to rule over Christmas, a report said Sunday.

The Hong Kong Aircrew Officers Association's 1,800 members will vote within six weeks on the deal, which falls short of the rises of more than 30 percent over four years demanded by the union, the Sunday Morning Post said.

"We believe the package is a very good one and we hope our pilots will see that it is well balanced and addresses many of the issues discussed with the pilot representatives during our negotiations with them," a Cathay Pacific spokeswoman told AFP.

The Hong Kong-based flag carrier will award the pilots immediate rises of up to nine percent and further rises of two to three percent in May 2012, the Post reported, citing documents detailing the offer.

The labour campaign would have seen pilots refuse to work beyond their scheduled shifts, leading to possible flight delays, reports said.

The union could not be reached immediately for comment but chairman Peter Vinna described the offer in a circular to members as "a good start towards improving pay levels and forms a sound foundation on which to base further pay deals from May 2013", the Post said.

Cathay pilots make between 33,000 and 144,000 Hong Kong dollars (4,200 and 18,500 US dollars) a month depending on seniority, while foreign-hired staff also receive school-fee allowances and a housing subsidy as high as 60,000 Hong Kong dollars a month, the Post has reported.

In November, Cathay said it expected to nearly triple its full-year profit to 12.5 billion Hong Kong dollars (1.6 billion US dollars) as it bounces back from the global financial crisis.