FORT WORTH, Texas—American Airlines says it will cut passenger-carrying capacity by 1 percent in the first half of November as it tries to recover from widespread delays and a spike in cancelations.

American said Thursday that the pullback will give it more time to return to normal operations without affecting holiday travel.

Delays and cancelations soared in September, which American blamed on a work slowdown by some pilots. The pilots' union denied the charge.

Although American has boosted its on-time arrivals from September's 59-percent mark, flight-tracking service FlightStats.com says American still trailed other large U.S. airlines in delays on Wednesday.

American cut capacity in September and October by up to 2 percent. Airlines reduce capacity by eliminating flights or using smaller planes.