NEW YORK (CNN/Money) -
Passengers of the nation's largest airlines are experiencing longer layovers when making connections, according to a published report, as troubled carriers, including American and United, try to stem losses by changing their schedules.
USA Today reported Monday that an American Airlines passenger transferring through its hub at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport now face an average of a 75-minute wait, up 11 minutes from four years ago. Waits for connecting flights also lengthened for United and American passengers at O' Hare International Airport in Chicago and for US Airways passengers at its hub in Philadelphia. The paper's analysis was performed by Back Aviation Solutions, a leading aviation research firm.
The analysis found no change in average layover for Delta Air Line passengers at Atlanta Hartsfield airport.
The major airlines have been trying to spread out their flights more evenly throughout the day, rather than having a large percentage of their flights arrive and depart in relatively narrow windows, a practice that had limited layover time. The new spread-out schedule reduces costs by limiting the number of employees needed to service customers and aircraft at the peak times, as well as cutting down on the number of gates needed in some instances.
The six major airlines which have their schedules built around a hub and spoke system designed to service higher-paying business travelers have all lost money consistently since 2000, with United and US Airways seeking bankruptcy court protection, and American and Delta narrowly avoiding bankruptcy.
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