U.K. AUTHORITIES OFFER OPEN SKIES PLAN

   British aviation authorities have proposed a plan to liberalize the
U.S.-U.K. aviation market that addresses all-cargo rights, a spokesman for the U.S. Transportation Department said.
   The proposal was floated at a meeting in London last month. Beyond cargo liberalization, U.K. officials also proposed to open some take-off and landing slots for U.S. carriers at London’s Heathrow Airport, which would be a key breakthrough in talks that have stalled for more than three years.
   No agreement has been signed. U.K. authorities indicated they may want to "open cargo before going into passenger liberalization," the DOT spokesman said.
   The DOT said U.K. officials backed out of meetings this week, and no new formal negotiations are scheduled. Informal talks are expected to take place at an aviation meeting sponsored by the DOT in Chicago next week.
   U.S. officials are demanding that any deal include direct
Pittsburgh-to-London route rights for a U.S. carrier, since British Airways pulled out of Pittsburgh this summer. Any pact must also include a commitment from the United Kingdom that it will pursue "open skies," or total liberalization.
   U.K. cargo carriers began pressuring their government to sign a cargo
deal with the United States after Federal Express won U.K. approval this summer to serve points in Europe from Scotland. U.K. carriers say U.S. airlines enjoy rights in Britain, such as wet-leasing, they do not have in the United States.