Air cargo guides
Practical, plain-language explanations of how air cargo actually moves — the documents, the status codes, the costs and the customs steps — written for shippers, consignees and logistics coordinators who need to know where a shipment is and why.
Costs
Chargeable Weight in Air Freight: Volumetric Weight Explained
How airlines and couriers calculate chargeable weight, the 6,000 and 5,000 volumetric divisors, weight breaks, and worked examples you can reuse.
Air Freight vs Express Courier: Which One Fits Your Shipment?
Compare airline air cargo, integrated express and postal services on cost structure, speed, customs handling and tracking detail — with real-world scenarios.
Customs
What Happens After Your Air Cargo Lands: Import Handling and Customs Clearance
The steps between aircraft arrival and delivery — warehouse breakdown, notification, document release, customs clearance and collection.
Incoterms 2020 for Air Freight: Who Pays, Who Tracks, Who Clears
Which Incoterms 2020 rules suit air cargo, where risk transfers, who books the flight and clears customs — and who ends up holding the AWB.
Documents
How to Read an Air Waybill: A Field-by-Field Guide
Every box on an IATA air waybill explained — parties, routing, rate lines, charges, handling codes and where to find the numbers you need for tracking.
AWB Number Format and the Mod-7 Check Digit Explained
How an 11-digit air waybill number is built, how the mod-7 check digit works with worked examples, and how to spot typos before you track.
Master AWB vs House AWB: How Consolidated Air Freight Works
What a Master AWB and a House AWB are, how forwarders consolidate shipments, and which number to use when tracking on airline systems.
Tracking
Air Cargo Status Codes Explained: BKD, RCS, DEP, ARR, NFD, DLV and More
A practical reference to IATA cargo status codes — what BKD, RCS, MAN, DEP, ARR, RCF, NFD and DLV mean and the order you should expect them in.
Why Air Cargo Shipments Get Delayed — and How to Read the Signs in Tracking
Offloads, missed connections, split shipments, documentation and customs holds: how each delay shows up in tracking events and who to contact.
Free tools
AWB Number Validator
Check an air waybill number's mod-7 check digit and identify the issuing airline from its three-digit prefix.
Chargeable Weight Calculator
Work out volumetric and chargeable weight for multi-piece shipments with the IATA 6,000 or express 5,000 divisor.
Airline AWB Prefix Directory
Look up which airline issued an AWB from its three-digit prefix — major passenger and all-cargo carriers worldwide.
Reference
- Status glossary — airline and courier wording in plain English
- Tracking troubleshooting — not found, stale status, false delivered
- Carrier guides — prefixes, formats and tips for each supported carrier
How these guides are written
Each guide is written and reviewed by the AWBTracking.net team, drawing on the carrier data we process every day and on publicly available IATA and carrier documentation. Where rules differ by airline, country or contract we say so rather than guess. Guides carry a published and updated date, and we revise them when carriers change their processes. Read more about our editorial standards, or tell us if you spot something out of date.