The carrier has been motivated to seek such a deal by German unification, which effectively forces foreign carriers out of Germany by 1993.
The poor results have forced carriers to postpone the delivery of new planes and to put in other measures to cut costs.
The resulting competitive pressures have forced carriers to pass through most of the gains from higher productivity.
It also initiated a fare war in February by offering 50 percent off most tickets, forcing other carriers to cut fares.
Mr. Hendricks said the remarkable spread of free networks was forcing commercial carriers to rethink their strategies.
Continental's suit accusing American Airlines of trying to force other carriers out of business will be difficult to prove in court, lawyers and industry experts said.
Such capacity is largely becoming a commodity, forcing big carriers to offer customized services that relate directly to their corporate customers' core operations.
Forcing insolvent carriers out of business would "violate the whole principle of Chapter 11" reorganization under bankruptcy, he said.
These forces will probably force smaller carriers like Western Wireless to seek deals.
Google could have forced carriers to update more often by simply changing the licensing.