Air Freight Shipping - Air Waybill

Air Waybill

When transporting your goods by air you need a special document that is called Air Waybill. This is a contract between the shipper and airline that states the terms and conditions of transportation. Every Air Waybill has a tracking number with the help of which it is possible to check the status of delivery, and current position of the shipment. The number consists of a three digits airline prefix issued by IATA and a 8 digit number.

Every shipper must make three copies of AWB. The first three copies are classified as originals. The issuing carrier retains the first copy. The 2nd copy is retained by the receiving carrier or their appointed agent. The 3rd one is used as Proof Of Delivery (POD).

Two types of air waybills are used for the international transportation of air cargo:
1) The "airline air waybill", with pre-printed issuing carrier identification;
2) The "neutral air waybill" without pre-printed identification of the issuing carrier in any form and used by other bodies than air carriers.

The goods in the air consignment are consigned directly to the party (the consignee) named in the letter of credit (L/C). The importer can obtain the goods from the carrier at destination without paying the issuing bank or the consignor unless the goods are consigned to a third party like the issuing bank.

For air consignment to certain destinations, it is possible to arrange payment on a COD (cash on delivery) basis and consign the goods directly to the importer. All goods are released to the importer only after the importer makes the payment and complies with the instructions in the AWB.

The Air Waybill indicates that the goods have been accepted for carriage. It must be signed or authenticated by the carrier or the named agent for or on behalf of the carrier. The carrier must sign there but in the case of agent signing or authenticating, it is required to indicate the name and the capacity of the carrier on whose behalf the agent signs or authenticates.

International AWBs that contain consolidated cargo are called master air waybills (MAWB) that contain information of each individual shipment with the consolidation. They have additional papers called house air waybills (HAWB). When the shipment is booked, the airline issues a MAWB to the forwarder, who in turn issues their own house air waybill to the customer.