Various air freight documentation, are listed.
Air way bills (AWB)
An air way bill is a contract to transport goods by air and is issued by the carrier airline. It limits the liability of the airline and details the goods being carried. It also includes the charges for this service. Unlike a sea-freight bill of lading an air way bill is a non-negotiable document. They are sometimes used as through delivery documents by road transport companies where the majority of the journey distance has been completed by air. They may be used for both domestic and international carriage of goods.
House air way bills (HAWB)
A house air way bill is issued by a freight forwarding company that is entitled to do so. For example an IATA cargo agent would be entitled to issue a HAWB as they will have the relevant insurances in place and as issuer will assume the liability as the carrier in the same way as the airline carrier would for an AWB. These are most oft en used in the situation where small cargo shipments are consolidated by the freight forwarder for onward shipment to the final destination. These individual HAWBs for all the shipments consolidated will be detailed in a master air way bill (MAWB), which details the contract between the freight forwarding company and the carrier airline.
Other documentation
Packing lists, commercial invoices, certificates of origin and a variety of other cargo or country-specific documents may be required by the airlines, security services and customs services at both origin and destination airports.
