Air waybill is a document associated with air transport. Air Waybill or AWB, alternatively an electronic air waybill or e-AWB (electronic Air Way Bill) is a consignment note but also a transport agreement. In the AWB presented in addition to sender and recipient of information, general terms of air cargo, description of cargo, quantity, dimensions, routing and timetables. AWB is individually numbered (Air Way Bill number) and cargo tracking is possible by AWB number.
Air waybill is made mainly by freight forwarder, who supplies air waybill copies to various parties involved in the transport chain.
Air waybill is direct or “not for sale ” (non – negotiable) transport agreement. This should be taken into account in terms of banking and monitoring purposes.
Changing transport agreement, returning goods to sender, stopping them at intermediate station or changing recipient by sender can be implemented through airline, which received goods. In this case, an appellant has to present original document No 3 (sender’s copy) in the office of the airline in question.
In the destination place, when the tenure of the goods transfers to recipient named in the AWB, one has to note in the charging procedure that recipient can receive goods without paying charges if the goods are not being appointed to forwarder, who manages charging procedure or to the bank. With the bank’s or forwarder’s power of attorney final recipient can redeem shipment from airline company.
HAWB -House Air Waybill
HAWB identifies shipment when freight forwarder has groupage or more shipments in the same air waybill or main air waybill (MAWB – Master Air Waybill). HAWB is also used for individual shipments. However, there should be the actual air waybill, which is accepted by airline as only transport document.
By appearance, HAWB is often similar to ordinary air waybill, but the giver of HAWB is always a forwarding agent. Format and text can be fully or partially different from airlines air waybill. Numbers and amounts are usually same as in the air waybill. It is important to note, however, that responsibility section on the overleaf of original AWB can be different than in HAWB. Similarly, HAWB series of numbers can differ from the AWB, and it can be combination of letters and numbers.
HAWB may not be accepted in trade with letters of credits unless terms and conditions mention it separately. However, banks have had different practices. Otherwise, HAWB is used much the same way as the actual air waybill and approaches are the same.
Sivu päivitetty / tarkistettu 7.5.2021.