What an air waybill is
The air waybill (AWB) is the transport document for air cargo. It is the contract of carriage between the shipper and the airline and the receipt for the goods, but unlike an ocean bill of lading it is not a document of title. Today most air waybills are electronic (e-AWB), yet the number works the same way whether it is printed or sent as a message between the forwarder and the airline.
Every AWB number is unique to the airline that issued it. That number is what the airline, the ground handler at the airport, customs and your forwarder all use to identify the shipment.
The structure of an air waybill number
An air waybill number has eleven digits, usually written as three digits, a dash and eight digits, for example 020-12345675.
| Part | Example | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Airline prefix | 020 | Three digit code that identifies the issuing airline |
| Serial number | 1234567 | Seven digits assigned by the airline from its stock of numbers |
| Check digit | 5 | The remainder of the serial divided by 7 |
The dash and any spaces are only for readability. Some systems write the number as 02012345675, others as 020 1234 5675. They all mean the same air waybill.
Airline prefixes you will see often
The prefix is the airline's three digit accounting code. It tells you which carrier holds the consignment, and therefore whose tracking to check. A few common prefixes on US import and export lanes:
| Prefix | Airline |
|---|---|
| 001 | American Airlines |
| 006 | Delta Air Lines |
| 016 | United Airlines |
| 020 | Lufthansa |
| 057 | Air France |
| 074 | KLM |
| 125 | British Airways |
| 157 | Qatar Airways |
| 160 | Cathay Pacific |
| 172 | Cargolux |
| 176 | Emirates |
| 180 | Korean Air |
| 618 | Singapore Airlines |
The prefix belongs to the airline that issued the air waybill, which is usually the carrier operating the main flight. When cargo moves on a partner airline or on a trucked leg (road feeder service), the AWB number stays the same and the issuing airline keeps reporting the status.
How the mod 7 check digit works
The last digit of the serial is a check digit, and it is easy to verify.
- Take the seven digits after the prefix and before the last digit.
- Divide that seven digit number by 7.
- The remainder, from 0 to 6, must equal the last digit.
For 020-12345675, the serial is 1234567. Seven goes into 1234567 one hundred seventy six thousand three hundred sixty six times, which is 1234562, leaving a remainder of 5. The last digit is 5, so the number is valid. The prefix is not part of the calculation.
Because the remainder can only be 0 to 6, a last digit of 7, 8 or 9 always means a typo. The check catches most single digit mistakes, though not every swap of two digits, so a valid check digit is a good sign rather than a guarantee.
MAWB and HAWB, two numbers for one shipment
Most air cargo moves through a forwarder who consolidates freight from several shippers onto one airline booking. That creates two levels of paperwork.
- The master air waybill (MAWB) is issued by the airline to the forwarder. It has the eleven digit format above and covers the whole consolidation.
- The house air waybill (HAWB) is issued by the forwarder to each shipper. Its format is chosen by the forwarder, so it has no airline prefix and no standard check digit.
The airline only knows the MAWB. If you search the airline's tracking page with a HAWB, you get nothing. To follow the flight, ask your forwarder for the MAWB number that your HAWB sits under. To follow the release and delivery to your door, the forwarder's own tracking on the HAWB is usually the better source after the freight lands.
Air cargo status codes and what they mean
Airlines and ground handlers report air cargo progress with standard status codes. You will see them on airline tracking pages, sometimes as the code and sometimes as plain words.
| Code | Meaning |
|---|---|
| BKD | Booked on a flight |
| RCS | Received from shipper, accepted at origin |
| MAN | Manifested on a specific flight |
| DEP | Departed on the flight |
| ARR | Arrived at the airport |
| RCF | Received from flight, freight is in the destination warehouse |
| NFD | Notified for delivery, the consignee or agent has been told the freight is ready |
| AWD | Documents delivered to the consignee or agent |
| DLV | Delivered to the consignee or agent |
| DIS | Discrepancy, for example missing or damaged pieces |
Watch the piece count on each event. A shipment of ten pieces that shows RCF for eight means two pieces are still somewhere else, often on a later flight. Split shipments like this are common on busy lanes and are a frequent reason for a delayed pickup.
What happens after the flight lands
Arrival is not the end of tracking. For an import into the US, the freight still has to be broken down at the airline's warehouse, cleared by US Customs and Border Protection, and released to the trucker. The useful milestones after ARR are RCF (freight is in the warehouse), customs release, NFD (ready for pickup) and DLV (picked up or delivered).
Airline warehouses charge storage once free time ends, which is usually short for air cargo. If your trucker shows up before the freight is broken down or before customs releases it, the trip is wasted. Tracking these later milestones is what keeps pickups on time and storage charges low.
Common air waybill mistakes that break tracking
Air cargo lookups fail for a few predictable reasons. Checking for them first saves a call to the forwarder.
- The prefix is missing, so only eight digits were entered and the system cannot tell which airline to ask.
- The prefix belongs to the forwarder's preferred airline, but the freight was rebooked on another carrier under a new MAWB.
- A HAWB was entered where a MAWB belongs, often because the commercial invoice only shows the house number.
- Digits were transposed while copying from a scanned pre-alert, which the mod 7 check usually catches.
- The freight has not been tendered to the airline yet, so the number exists but no RCS event has been posted.
When the number is valid and still shows nothing, ask whether the airline has accepted the freight. Until acceptance, the shipment is in the forwarder's warehouse and only the forwarder can report its status.
Where to find the air waybill number
- On the air waybill document or e-AWB confirmation from the airline or forwarder.
- In the forwarder's booking confirmation and pre-alert, which normally lists both MAWB and HAWB.
- On the labels attached to each piece, which show the AWB number as text and barcode.
- On the arrival notice from the forwarder or the airline's import desk.
- On the customs entry documents prepared by your broker.
Tracking air cargo across several airlines
Checking one AWB on one airline site is quick. Importers and forwarders who move freight on several airlines spend more time than they should, because each airline uses its own tracking page, its own wording and its own time zone conventions. Some show local airport time, some show UTC, and few say which.
Air cargo tracking in ShipmentVisibility reads the prefix to find the airline, runs the mod 7 check, and keeps every air waybill on the same list as your containers, LTL and parcel shipments. Status codes are translated into the same milestone names for every airline, piece counts are kept on each event, and you get alerts when freight is received from the flight, ready for pickup or flagged with a discrepancy. You can paste a MAWB into the tracker on the home page, see everything the product does on features or compare plans on pricing.
Quick checklist for any air waybill number
- Eleven digits: three digit prefix and eight digit serial.
- Look up the prefix to know the airline.
- Check that the seven digit serial divided by 7 leaves the last digit as remainder.
- A last digit of 7, 8 or 9 is always a typo.
- If the number has letters or a different length, it is probably a HAWB, so ask the forwarder for the MAWB.