Southwest Airlines executives said in its second quarter earnings call that it would keep middle seats open at least through October and that it would not pursue furloughs and layoffs, or pay and benefit cuts, through the end of the year. Gary Kelly, CEO, said business had improved in May and June but had stalled in July with the rise in COVID-19 cases. He said he expects demand to remain depressed until a vaccine or therapeutics are available. The carrier’s second quarter total operating revenues decreased 82.9% year over year to $1 billion as a result of lower demand. There was a year-over-year load factor decrease of 55 points and a passenger revenue yield decrease of 21.1%. Thus far in July, said the airline, bookings for all upcoming months have softened, cancellations have increased modestly and the rate of sequential monthly improvement for July revenue trends has slowed.