What is an electronic Air Waybill? How does it relate to a paper AWB?
The Air Waybill (AWB) is the contract of carriage between the ‘shipper’ (e.g. forwarder) and the
‘carrier’ (airline). It is also called the paper AWB.
The electronic AWB (e-AWB) is an electronic contract of carriage that is an alternative to the
paper AWB contract. The electronic contract of carriage is achieved through the interchange of
electronic data (EDI) messages. The terms and conditions for interchanging EDI messages
between shipper and carrier are specifically set forth in IATA’s Model Agreement for EDI, a copy
of which can be found in Attachment “A” of the Cargo Services Conference (CSC)
Recommended Practice 1670 (also referred to as the “e-AWB Agreement”)