"ALL FLIGHTS are local in a political debate over new U.S.-London routes.</br></br>Lawmakers vie for Heathrow Airport routes suggested for six U.S. carriers by the General Accounting Office under the proposed American Airlines-British Airways alliance. Ohio Sen. DeWine's office complains Cleveland is excluded. New Jersey Sen. Torricelli wants more flights from Newark. ""My concern is places like Portland,"" says Oregon Sen. Wyden.</br></br>The GAO plan ""appears to be an effort to appease"" the deal's foes, ""and it may,"" says Ben Hirst of Northwest Airlines. The GAO allocates a Charlotte, N.C., route sought by South Carolina Sen. Hollings. Transportation Department officials gripe that the GAO undermines U.S. negotiations with the British by listing only 23 new round trips to London; the agency seeks 31.</br></br>A year after announcing the proposed alliance, what grade would American Airlines Chief Robert Crandall give DOT for its negotiations? ""An `F',"" he says.</br></br>TODAY'S JOBLESS REPORT will be a key to Fed rate-rise thinking."