1. Air Waybill
A shipping document issued by an air carrier or its agent. It is a receipt for the goods received by the carrier and a transportation contract between the consignor and the carrier, but it does not have the nature of a property right certificate, so the air waybill is not transferable.
2. Classification of air waybills
1. Classification by whether there is a carrier’s name
There are two types of air waybills
(1) Airline Air Waybill
An air waybill with the name and logo (logo, code, etc.) of the issuing airline (issue carrier) printed on it. This type of air waybill represents the identity of the issuing airline.
(2) Neutral Air Waybill
An air waybill without any carrier’s name or logo printed on it in advance. This type of air waybill does not represent any airline and is a neutral air waybill.
2. Classification by different functions (1) Master Air Waybill (MAWB) Any air waybill issued by an air transport company is called a master air waybill.
(2) House Air Waybill (HAWB) An air waybill issued to each shipper by an air freight forwarding company when handling centralized consignment business.
III. Composition of air waybills
my country’s international air waybills are composed of twelve copies, including three originals, six copies and three extra copies.
The distribution of each copy of the air waybill is shown in the following table:
Responsibility for filling out the air waybill
According to the provisions of the Warsaw Convention, the Hague Protocol and the carrier’s conditions of carriage, the carrier’s conditions of carriage require the shipper to prepare the air waybill.
According to Article 6 (1) and (5) of the Warsaw Convention, the air waybill shall be filled in by the consignor. If the carrier fills in the air waybill according to the consignor’s request, it shall be deemed to be filled in on behalf of the principal in the absence of contrary evidence.
This shows that the consignor shall be responsible for the correctness and completeness of the contents filled in the air waybill. If the carrier or other persons suffer losses due to inaccurate or incomplete contents filled in the air waybill, the consignor shall be liable.
In the operation of air cargo business, a large amount of cargo carried by each airline is collected and transported through its agents, and some special cargo is collected and transported directly by the airline. Because filling in the air waybill requires certain professional knowledge, and in order to facilitate operation and provide services to customers, the consignor authorizes the airline or its agent to fill in the air waybill on behalf of the consignor in the form of a consignment note or a letter of entrustment.
In this case, it is very important for the consignor to fill in the consignment note or letter of entrustment correctly and completely. The airline or its agent shall fill in the air waybill on behalf of the consignor according to the consignor’s consignment note or letter of entrustment.
The consignor’s signature on the air waybill proves that he accepts the transportation conditions and contract on the back of the original air waybill.
IV. Nature and Function
Airway bill is very different from ocean bill of lading, but similar to international railway bill of lading. It is an important cargo transportation document issued by the carrier or its agent. It is a transportation contract between the carrier and the consignor, and its content is binding on both parties.
Airway bill is not transferable, and holding an air waybill does not mean that you can claim ownership of the goods.
1. Airway bill is a transportation contract between the consignor and the air carrier. Unlike ocean bill of lading, airway bill not only proves the existence of air transportation contract, but also the airway bill itself is a cargo transportation contract concluded between the consignor and the air transport carrier. It becomes effective after both parties sign it and becomes invalid after the goods arrive at the destination and are delivered to the consignee recorded on the waybill.
2. Airway bill is a proof of receipt of goods issued by the carrier. Airway bill is also a receipt for goods. After the consignor ships the goods, the carrier or its agent will give one copy to the consignor (i.e. the consignor copy) as proof of receipt of the goods. Unless otherwise specified, it is proof that the carrier has received the goods and shipped them in good condition.
3. Airway bill is the bill on which the carrier collects freight. Airway bill records the expenses that belong to the consignee, the expenses that should be paid to the carrier and the expenses that should be paid to the agent, and lists the types and amounts of expenses in detail. Therefore, it can be used as a freight bill and invoice. Carriers often use the carrier copy as a voucher for accounting.
4. Airway bill is one of the customs declaration documents. Airway bill is one of the customs declaration documents when exporting. When the goods arrive at the destination airport for import declaration, the airway bill is usually also the basic document for customs inspection and release.
5. Airway bill can also be used as insurance certificate If the carrier undertakes insurance or the consignor requires the carrier to arrange insurance on its behalf, the airway bill can also be used as an insurance certificate.
6. Airway bill is the basis of the carrier’s internal business The airway bill accompanies the goods and proves the identity of the goods. The waybill contains matters related to the dispatch, transshipment and delivery of the goods, and the carrier will make corresponding arrangements for the transportation of the goods accordingly. The original of the airway bill is in triplicate, each with the terms on the back. One of them is given to the consignor and is the basis for the carrier or its agent to receive the goods; the second copy is retained by the carrier as a bookkeeping voucher; the last copy accompanies the goods and is used as the basis for verifying the receipt of the goods when the goods arrive at the destination and are delivered to the consignee.
V. Main Contents
Similar to the ocean bill of lading, the airway bill also has front and back terms, and different airlines will also have their own unique airway bill format. The difference is that the ocean bills of lading of shipping companies may be very different, but the air waybills used by various airlines mostly refer to the standard format recommended by IATA, and the difference is not big. So we only introduce this standard format here, also known as the neutral waybill. The following are the columns that need to be filled in:
1. Departure airport: You need to fill in the three-character code of the departure airport or city uniformly formulated by IATA. This column should be consistent with column 11.
1A: The airline code uniformly compiled by IATA, such as the code of my country’s international airlines is 999;
1B: Waybill number.
Transportation process
2. Shipper’s Name and Address: Fill in the name, address, country and contact method of the shipper.
3. Shipper’s account number: Fill in only when necessary.
4. Consignee’s Name and Address: You should fill in the consignee’s name, address, country and contact method. Unlike ocean bills of lading, air waybills are not transferable, so words such as “to order” are not allowed.
5. Consignee’s account number: Fill in only when necessary, as in column 3.
6. Issuing Carrier|s Agent Name and City.
7. Agent’s IATA code.
8. Agent’s account number.
9. Airport of Departure and Requested routing: The airport of departure here should be consistent with that filled in column 1.
10. Accounting Information: This column is only filled in when a special payment method is used.
11A (C, E). To: Fill in the IATA code of the first (second, third) transfer airport respectively.
11B (D, F). Carrier (By): Enter the carrier of the first (second, third) section of transportation.
12. Currency (Currency): Enter the ISO currency code.
13. Charge code: Indicate the payment method.
14. Freight and declared value charge (WT/VAL, weight charge/valuation charge):
There are two situations at this time: prepaid (PPD, Prepaid) or collect (COLL collect). If prepaid, fill in “*” in 14A, otherwise fill in 14 days. It should be noted that the payment method of freight and declared value charge in air cargo transportation must be the same and cannot be paid separately.
15. Other charges (Other): There are also two payment methods: prepaid and collect.
16. Declared Value for Carriage (Declared Value for Carriage): Fill in the declared value for transportation required by the shipper in this column. If the consignor does not require a declared value, fill in “NVD (No value declared)”.
17. Declared Value for Customs: The consignor shall fill in the declared value to the customs, or fill in “NCV (No customs valuation)” to indicate that there is no declared value.
18. Airport of Destination: Fill in the full name of the final destination airport.
19. Flight/Date: Fill in the flight and date of the cargo.
20. Amount of Insurance: Fill in only when the airline provides insurance service and the customer also needs it.
21. Handling Information: Generally fill in the carrier’s precautions on the handling of the cargo, such as “Shipper’s certification for live animals”.
22A–22L Freight rates and freight details.
22A. Number of Pieces RCP, Rate Combination Point: Enter the number of packages. For example, if there are 10 packages, enter “10”. When a proportional rate or a segmented combined rate is required, enter the IATA code of the rate combination point airport in this column.
22B. Gross Weight: Enter the gross weight of the cargo.
22C. Weight Unit: You can choose kilograms (kg) or pounds (lb).
22D. Rate Class: There are 6 codes for different air freight rates, which are M (Minimum), C (Specific Commodity Rates), S (Surcharge, higher than ordinary freight rates), R (Reduced, lower than ordinary freight rates), N (Normal, ordinary freight rates for goods below 45 kg), Q (Quantity, ordinary freight rates for goods above 45 kg).
22E. Commodity Item No.: When using special freight rates, you need to fill in the commodity code in this column.
22F. Chargeable Weight: Fill in the chargeable weight used by the airline to calculate the freight in this column. This weight can be the same as or different from the gross weight of the goods.
22G. Rate/Charge: Fill in the rate applicable to the goods.
22H.Total Freight: The value in this column should be the minimum freight value or the product of the values in the freight rate and the chargeable weight columns.
22I.Nature and Quantity of Goods incl. Dimensions or Volume: The size of the goods should be in centimeters or inches, and the dimensions are based on the longest, widest and highest sides of the goods. The volume is the product of the above three sides in cubic centimeters or cubic inches.
22J. The total number of pieces of goods under this waybill.
22K. The total gross weight of the goods under this waybill.
22L. The total freight of the goods under this waybill.
23.Other Charges: Refers to other charges except freight and declared value surcharge. According to IATA rules, each charge is represented by three English letters. The first two letters are the code for a certain fee, such as the waybill fee is expressed as AW (Air Waybill Fee). The third letter is C or A, which means that the fee should be paid to the carrier or the freight agent.
24-26. Record the freight, declared value fee and tax amount respectively, which can be prepaid or paid on delivery.
27-28. Record the total amount of other fees to be paid to the freight agent (Due Agent) and the carrier (Due Carrier) respectively.
29. Various fees to be prepaid or paid on delivery.
30. The total amount of prepaid and paid on delivery.
31. The signature of the shipper.
32. The signing time (date), place, and signature of the carrier or its agent.
33. Currency conversion and destination airport charges.
All the above contents do not have to be filled in the airway bill, and IATA does not object to writing other required contents in the airway bill. However, this standardized document has a positive significance for air cargo operators to improve work efficiency and promote the air cargo industry to move towards e-commerce.
Six, the characteristics of the airway bill
1. Not a document of title to the goods: The airway bill is different from the ocean bill of lading. It is not a certificate of ownership of the goods. It is only a receipt of goods and a certificate of transportation contract issued by the carrier to the consignor. Since the airway bill is not a security of goods rights, in practice, after the goods arrive at the destination, the consignee picks up the goods with the carrier’s arrival notice and relevant certificates, and signs for the airway bill that arrives with the goods when picking up the goods, and the consignee is not required to pick up the goods with the airway bill. However, before the goods are accepted, the consignor can instruct the carrier to return, stop, or re-transport the goods to another place with the airway bill it holds, or instruct a third party other than the original consignee at the destination to accept the goods. In this regard, the airway bill can be said to be a quasi-property security.
2. Non-negotiable instrument: Due to the high speed of air transport, the goods are usually delivered to the destination before the shipper sends the airway bill to the consignee, which largely eliminates the need to transfer the goods through the transfer of the shipping order. Therefore, although the Hague Protocol does not prohibit the issuance of negotiable airway bills, in practice, airway bills are generally printed with the words “not negotiable”. In addition, the airway bill is a straight bill of lading, that is, the name and address of the consignee are specified in the consignee column, and the words “to order of…onto order” are not adopted. Therefore, the airway bill is a non-transferable document and cannot be a certificate of ownership of the goods.
3. (Airway bill of lading): Airway bill of lading is issued after the carrier receives the goods, not after loading them on the plane. There is a word “Received for Carriage” on the bill of lading, so the airway bill is a transport bill of lading. This is a risk for the buyer. In order to obtain better protection, the buyer can require the bank to only accept the airway bill with the stamp of the actual departure date in the letter of credit transaction.
4. Formal documents: Both the Warsaw Convention and the Hague Protocol stipulate the contents that should be recorded in the airway bill. If it is not recorded in accordance with the regulations, although it does not affect the establishment of the transportation contract, the carrier cannot enjoy the benefits of the convention. In form, the carrier seems to have the freedom of choice, but in fact, he does not want to reduce his own responsibilities to enjoy the benefits of the convention. Therefore, in essence, the airway bill is a kind of formal document. Here is a comparison of the characteristics of airway bill and ocean bill of lading:
Ocean bill of lading Airway bill
As a receipt for goods
As a certificate of transportation contract
It is a property security and not a property security. Most of them are in the order form (to order) and are in the straight form. They can be transferred by endorsement but are not tradable. Pick up the goods by presenting the bill of lading and picking up the goods by identity (no need to present the bill of lading). VII. Matters to be noted 1. Issuer of the air waybill Air waybill should be issued by the air carrier or its agent. Unless the letter of credit clearly stipulates, the bank refuses to accept the air waybill issued by the transport bank or consignor. 2. Number of copies of the air waybill Air waybill is generally in triplicate and several copies. The first original air waybill is kept by the air carrier (airline), the second original will be delivered to the consignee together with the goods, and the third original will be delivered by the carrier to the shipper, and the shipper can apply for export letter of credit from the bank based on it. 3. Consignee of the airway bill
Since only the consignee listed in the airway bill has the right to collect the goods, the name of the consignee of the airway bill should be handled strictly in accordance with the provisions of the letter of credit. If the letter of credit does not specify the consignee, the issuing bank should be the consignee.