Air Waybill (AWB)
The air cargo equivalent of a bill of lading, and unlike one it is never a document of title.
An air waybill is the contract of carriage and the carrier's receipt for goods moving by air. It is issued in a set, travels with the shipment, and carries an eleven-digit number beginning with the airline's three-digit prefix.
The critical difference from an ocean bill of lading is that an air waybill is not negotiable and confers no title. Goods are released to the named consignee on identification, with nothing to surrender. That makes air freight faster to collect and useless as security for payment — if you have not been paid, an air waybill will not hold the cargo for you.
As with ocean freight there are house and master versions: a consolidator issues a house air waybill to each shipper and moves the lot under one master.
Also called: airway bill, air consignment note.