Skyliner takes off
Page 16
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• Skyliner International, a company run by John and Andrew Schofield, has been granted a new international PSV operator's licence for six vehicles, by North Western Traffic Commissioner Martin Albu. At the same inquiry, however, Albu revoked a similar licence held by Schofield Travel (UK), now in receivership, which had been run by Hugh Schofield, father of Skyliner's directors.
Albu said that his main concern was Skyliner's finance and the fact that it had been convicted of permitting drivers' hours and tachograph offences, and of failing to produce tachograph records, resulting in fines and costs totalling g10,200. (CM 4-10 August.)
John Schofield said that, though he and his brother had worked for Sun Holidays, the trading name of Schofield Travel, they had not been directors or shareholders. Skyliner had been formed in 1984, working solely for Sun Holidays. It had traded successfully until making a loss in 1987, principally as a result of being owed 248,000 by Sun Holidays.
The company had an overdraft facility of 220,000 and he considered that its present finances were satisfactory. It was currently operating five leased leyland Daf vehicles less than a year old.
The offences had arisen for a number of reasons, said Schofield. Checking of charts had been delegated to someone who had not been suitable. There had been difficulties in getting charts back from an agency which had been used to provide drivers in France, and the quality of the drivers the company itself had employed had not been very high because of a shortage of drivers due to deregulation. He now personally checked the charts.
The vehicles were now engaged on shuttle work, 10-day tours and a scheduled service to London. The attitude and morale of the drivers had improved, he said.
In reply to Albu, Schofield said Skyliner had had no licence in 1984. It had owned the coaches, but they were operated by another company who paid the drivers. From 1985 Skyliner had operated under Sun Holiday's licence.
Albu commented that he was not sure that that was within the law, and once the discs were returned when Sun Holidays went into receivership, Skyliner had clearly been operating without authority.
Granting a licence after hearing that the company had an asset base of 2125,000, Albu said he accepted that it was a separate company from Sun Holidays with it own resources, which were adequate. A number of factors had led to the offences, one of which was a lack of management control, but he was satisfied that steps had been taken to rectify this.