:osmos stymied in Mbased tours bid
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ATTEMPT by Cosmos to !.r the British coach tour ket met with stiff opposiat a hearing of the Metrotan area Traffic Commisers last week.
he case was adjourned r two days until a date in middle of May — causing cellation of the early adised tour since the corn;loners refused to grant an rim short-term licence.
he original licence applicai was made by Cosmos ch Tours through Travel Ise, Luton, part of the entrol Travel Group, who ild operate the tours for mos if the application was :essful.
osmos wants three British Ji tours similar to those -ently offered only to nonish passengers resident side the UK. The tours iested by Cosmos would be the home market and rated by Tricentrol with ches in the livery of mos.
evidence Harold Baggott, taging director of Tricen, said his company envi using an absolute maxi mum or la 4.-uat,fies on the Cosmos operation in 1979. Mr Baggott pointed to Tricentrol's "faultless" record in 1977 and 1978 when operating the Cosmos British coach tours for non-British residents, when there were no mechanical breakdowns whatsoever.
Cosmos produced for inspection 2,500 questionnaires filled in by British passengers on the Continental Cosmos coach tours, which demon strated "fundamental evidence of need" for scenic tours in Britain, said Mr Stafford, a director of Cosmos Coach Tours.
Cosmos's attempt to enter the British coach touring market drew objections from National Travel, Wallace Arnold, Excelsior, and Glenton, whose, representatives were cross-examined by Cosmos and Tricentrol.
The objectors were doubtful about the financial backing and structure of Cosmos Coach Tours and asked Mr Stafford for details of shareholders. Although a set of the most recent published accounts were produced, these questions could not be satis factorily answered and the commissioners decided to adjourn the case to May.
Cosmos immediately requested a short-term licence to allow the first advertised tour departures to run.
All four objectors, led by Don Jordan of Wallace Arnold, opposed this most strongly, saying Cosmos had not yet made out a good enough case for the tours' operation.
The traffic commissioners upheld their objection and refused an interim short-term licence.