01Purpose and legal basis
IATA air waybill. Unlike the B/L not a document of title — only a receipt and contract document. HAWB = House AWB (forwarder), MAWB = Master AWB (airline).
The document is typically sent alongside the commercial invoice, packing list and, where relevant, origin / preference documents. For cross-border traffic, customs and security authorities require prior electronic data transmission (e.g. ICS2).
02Mandatory contents
Common required fields are shipper, consignee, goods description, value, Incoterm, HS code and country of origin. In document-based payment (L/C), formal discrepancies are the most frequent reason for refusal.
03Issuance and handling
Issuer: Airline / forwarder. Most documents are produced electronically in practice (EDI, eAWB, eB/L pilots such as BIMCO and DCSA). For high-value shipments the original still matters, particularly in banking-channel transactions.