Fort Worth, Texas ? Even as it was piling up losses and pleading with unions to cut labor costs, American Airlines created a pension fund that protected the benefits of dozens of top executives in case of bankruptcy.

Union leaders at American Airlines, whose employees had just agreed to $1.8 billion in wage concessions, expressed outrage Thursday over the management perquisites.

“It’s the equivalent of an obscene gesture from management,” said John Ward, president of the flight attendants’ union, which initially rejected concessions but reversed itself Wednesday after voting was extended.

James C. Little, the leader of the ground workers’ union, said he would consult with lawyers before deciding whether to sign the new contract his union narrowly approved.

“This is such an important issue it should have been explained to us,” he said. “It just doesn’t pass the smell test.”

Ward however, said it was too late to reject the pay cuts. “It’s done,” he said.

The executives’ deal, which includes huge bonuses for a few, was disclosed late Tuesday as the world’s largest airline was trying to sew up the wage concessions it says it needs to stay afloat.

Few employees learned of the executive benefits until after they had approved the benefit cuts. Voting by the pilots’ and ground workers’ unions had ended by the time the deal was disclosed in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Company spokesman Bruce Hicks defended the trust and said it was disclosed to union leaders over the past several weeks. A confidentiality agreement prohibited them from informing rank-and-file workers.

Donald Carty, American Airlines chairman and chief executive officer, is among the executives who received a pension fund in case the company went bankrupt. Carty announced Wednesday that the flight attendants union agreed to accept 40 million in labor concessions.

“Retention benefits are designed to keep key senior management who are constantly being wooed by other companies,” Hicks said.

Ward and Little said they were given general information about executive compensation but denied being told about the bonuses and pension funding.

Hicks said the extra pensions were similar to a plan for American’s pilots, which he said also would be protected in bankruptcy. Ground workers and flight attendants, who earn far less than pilots, have no such plan, he said.

According to the SEC filing by American’s parent, AMR Corp., the company funded a pension trust for 45 top executives in October that protected some of their benefits even if the carrier filed for bankruptcy protection.

The company did not indicate the cost of funding the trust, whose existence was first reported by The Wall Street Journal.

In addition, the company offered its six top executives bonuses double their annual base salaries if they remain until early 2005.

Among the executives in line to receive the bonuses is chairman and chief executive Donald Carty, who told workers last month that he would take a 33 percent pay cut.

Carty could get a $1.6 million bonus, based on his 2002 salary of $811,000.