AWB

An Air Waybill (AWB) is the standard transport document for international air cargo. Unlike an ocean Bill of Lading, an AWB is not a document of title — it is a contract of carriage and a cargo receipt, but the goods are released at destination based on identification of the named consignee, not surrender of the document.

Each AWB is identified by an 11-digit number: the first 3 digits are the airline prefix (e.g., 057 for Air France, 020 for Lufthansa), followed by 8 digits as the unique serial. The format is standardised by IATA.

The modern electronic equivalent is the e-AWB, replacing the paper original. The IATA e-AWB program aims to eliminate the paper AWB across the industry. House Air Waybills (HAWB) are issued by freight forwarders to their underlying shippers, parallel to the Master Air Waybill (MAWB) issued by the airline.