Who issues the air waybill?

The Master AWB is issued by the airline or its authorized agent. For shipments booked through a freight forwarder like UAL, we issue a House AWB to the shipper and hold the Master AWB with the carrier.

How many copies of an AWB are there?

The standard IATA AWB has 12 copies: 3 originals (for the issuing carrier, the consignee, and the shipper) and 9 copies for operational use at various handling points.

Can I track my shipment using the AWB number?

Yes. The 11-digit AWB number is the universal tracking reference across all airline cargo systems. Enter it at the carrier's cargo tracking portal or at track.aircargo.com for multi-airline tracking.

Air Freight Fundamentals

What is an Air Waybill?

The contract of carriage, customs declaration, and tracking reference for every air freight shipment worldwide.

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11 digits

AWB number format

12 copies

Standard IATA set

Non-negotiable

Document class

2 types

MAWB and HAWB

The AWB is your shipment's passport

An Air Waybill (AWB) is the contract of carriage between a shipper and an airline for air freight. It is not a document of title — unlike a Bill of Lading in sea freight, the AWB does not transfer ownership of the goods. It serves as a receipt, a freight invoice, and a customs declaration document.

The AWB records the shipper's name and address, consignee details, origin and destination airports, number of pieces, gross weight, chargeable weight, declared value for carriage, declared value for customs, and the nature of the goods. It also references the applicable conditions of contract — most carriers use the IATA standard conditions.

For direct shipments (one shipper, one consignee), only a Master AWB exists. For consolidated shipments — where a forwarder groups multiple shippers' cargo into one aircraft booking — a House AWB is issued underneath it for each shipper.

MAWB vs HAWB

Master AWB

Issued by the airline to the freight forwarder. References the carrier's flight. One MAWB covers the whole consolidated booking.

House AWB

Issued by the forwarder to the individual shipper. Multiple HAWBs can sit under one MAWB in a consolidated shipment.

1 MAWB

per consolidated booking, any number of HAWBs

Trade Finance Note

AWBs cannot be used with Letters of Credit requiring a negotiable document of title

Unlike a Bill of Lading, an AWB cannot be endorsed and transferred to another party.

Because the named consignee is the only party entitled to collect the goods, an AWB can't be endorsed and passed to a bank as collateral the way an order Bill of Lading can. If your terms require a negotiable transport document, confirm with your bank before booking air freight.

Airline prefix codes — AWB reference

Every AWB has an 11-digit number: a 3-digit airline prefix followed by an 8-digit serial number. The prefix is the primary reference for tracking a shipment through the airline's cargo system.

176

Emirates

014

Air Canada

180

Korean Air

157

Qatar Airways

160

Cathay Pacific

618

Singapore Airlines

232

Malaysia Airlines

217

Thai Airways

695

EVA Air

Source: IATA Resolution 600a — carrier-assigned AWB prefixes.

Worked example

Reading a Korean Air AWB number

Take a shipment on Korean Air Cargo's KUL–ICN routing — already confirmed on our Kuala Lumpur origin page as one of the fastest options into Canada. Korean Air's IATA-assigned prefix is 180 — the same 180 in the primary tier above. An AWB on that routing might read 180-12345675.

180 is Korean Air Cargo's carrier prefix under IATA Resolution 600a — every AWB the airline issues starts with it. 1234567 is the 7-digit serial number, assigned sequentially from Korean Air's own AWB stock. 5 is the check digit: IATA's formula divides the 7-digit serial by 7 and takes the remainder — 1,234,567 ÷ 7 = 176,366 remainder 5. Anyone handling the shipment can catch a mistyped AWB number just by re-running that division.

Whoever handles this shipment between Kuala Lumpur and its Canadian gateway — us or Korean Air directly — references this exact number at every point along the routing.

What UAL handles for you

As an IATA-accredited cargo agent, UAL issues House AWBs on behalf of shippers and manages the Master AWB relationship with the operating carrier. We handle the AWB preparation, ensure commodity descriptions meet CBSA requirements for Canadian imports, and provide the AWB number for shipment tracking. The carrier charges behind every AWB we issue settle through IATA's CASS system — see our CASS settlement guide for how that actually works.

IATA Accredited

Cargo Introductory Certified

ASEAN–Canada Specialist

Frequently asked questions

No. A Bill of Lading is used in sea freight and is a negotiable document of title. An Air Waybill is non-negotiable — it cannot be transferred to another party and does not represent ownership of the goods.

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Master AWB vs House AWB

Air Freight Documentation Checklist

CASS Settlement Explained

AWB standards: IATA Resolution 600a. Last verified: July 2026.