Service Quality Rebate and Bonus Scheme
The Service Quality Rebate Scheme was introduced by the CAA to identify the service standards that airlines and passengers could expect from Heathrow in return for the regulatory charges they paid. Where performance falls below a certain level, Heathrow must repay a proportion of charges levied back to the airlines. The service quality rebate scheme is a Licence condition in Q6.
In summary, the scheme has the following key features:
- provides an incentive to the airport to meet set standards of service quality;
- rebate payments are made monthly to airlines;
- the maximum amount of rebates that could be paid is 7% of airport charges
- rebates are paid on performance in an individual terminal apart from control posts where any rebate is paid to the whole airline community and the Aerodrome Congestion Term which is calculated and paid for the airfield as a whole.
The rebate scheme covers the following aspects of Heathrow's performance:
- Queuing at the departures security search area, transfers security search, staff search, and control posts search (this is the security search for catering, flight crews and maintenance equipment), and the availability of pier service for aircraft.
- Passenger perception of the availability of seating in the departures lounge, the quality of flight information systems, how easy it is to find their way around, the cleanliness of toilets and concourse areas within the terminal buildings, security processes and wifi ease of use.
- Passenger Sensitive Equipment (PSE), which includes lifts, escalators, conveyors (moving walkways), and Terminal 5 track transit system. The PSE has been split into two groups, a priority list and a general list, to ensure key equipment is identified and monitored closely, whilst keeping the rest of the equipment maintained.
- Other equipment in the scheme, including: arrivals baggage reclaim belts, fixed electrical ground power (for aircraft on stands), stands, jetties, pre-conditioned air (for aircraft), and stand entry guidance (to assist aircraft parking).
Changes to the scheme in Q6 include:
- Passenger security queue standard will move to a per passenger basis during Q6 with the same standard applying to transfer and direct passengers.
- A control post standard based on performance of control post groupings, rather than campus wide performance, with Heathrow required to meet the standard in all five groupings.
The scheme also includes a bonus element on passenger satisfaction measures to reward high performance that benefits passengers. The maximum additional revenue achievable via bonuses at Heathrow is 1.44 % of airport charges.
Please follow the link below for service quality performance prior to April 2014
Link to service quality performance prior to April 2014
Performance history to date
The following Service Quality Rebate reports combine all terminal reports and also include aerodrome congestion and control post queuing. All links open in a new window.
2015 performance
- Service Quality Rebate and Bonus - May 2015 (1006KB PDF)
- Service Quality Rebate and Bonus - April 2015 (1006KB PDF)
- Service Quality Rebate and Bonus - March 2015 (951KB PDF)
- Service Quality Rebate and Bonus - February 2015 (838KB PDF)
- Service Quality Rebate and Bonus - January 2015 (1250KB PDF)
2014 performance
- Service Quality Rebate and Bonus - December 2014 (1250KB PDF)
- Service Quality Rebate and Bonus - November 2014 (1198KB PDF)
- Service Quality Rebate and Bonus - October 2014 (1047KB PDF)
- Service Quality Rebate and Bonus - September 2014 (1097KB PDF)
- Service Quality Rebate and Bonus - August 2014 (1087KB PDF)
- Service Quality Rebate and Bonus - July 2014 (665KB PDF)
- Service Quality Rebate and Bonus - June 2014 (942KB PDF)
- Service Quality Rebate and Bonus - May 2014 (601KB PDF)
- Service Quality Rebate and Bonus - April 2014 (2296KB PDF)