Dear Sir,

As per UCP and ISBP, carrier need to be identified on the airway bill itself and the person who is signing the airway bill should indicate in which capacity he's signing.

The questions are:

1. How should the carrier be identified?
   If the AWB is from an airline i.e. its header shows the printed name of the carrier – will it also need to be identified on the AWB – as carrier?
    
2. In signing the AWB the agent normally states "agent for the carrier" but is it required to add the name of the carrier after this text like "agent for the carrier, jet airway"
    
3. If answers to the above two questions are “yes” then please explain why it is required to state the name of the carrier both in the signing field and in the letterhead of the AWB.

Kapil

Thanks for using the Single Window.

The point is that you can do this in a number of ways. Important are the following:

a) That the name of the carrier is indicated on the AWB

This means that the word "carrier" should somehow be connected to a company/entity (etc) mentioned on the AWB

b) The person signing the document

- this could be either an agent for or on behalf the carrier, or
- the carrier

c) If an agent is signing - there must be a clear indication that he is doing so for or on behalf the entity indicated as carrier on the AWB.

So to your questions:

1) As said - it could be in a number of ways e.g.

- in the AWB header (ABC airlines Ltd (carrier),

- in the signing by the carrier (signed by ABC airlines Ltd, as carrier) or

- In the signing by an agent (Signed by XZY Ltd as agent for ABC airlines Ltd, carrier)

2) Following the above:

An agent signing can either mention the name of the carrier - and the word "carrier" in the signing field, or it can merely refer to "for carrier" or for "ABC airlines Ltd" - provided ABC airlines Ltd is indicated as carrier somewhere on the AWB

3) You do not need to state the name of the carrier twice. The UCP is drafted flexible so that you can do this a number of ways - like the ones mentioned above.

I hope this clarifies. Should you need me to clarify kindly let me know.

Best regards

Kim Christensen

Thanks for your prompt and to the point reply.

Further to my question. To be more specific, I am having an airway bill of Malaysian Air Lines showing the following header

It has been signed in following manner

So in short: nowhere on the AWB is Malaysian airlines specifically identified as the carrier, but it is implied from the document header that Malaysian airlines is in fact the carrier. Is it sufficient that the document is complying with the norms of carrier for identification of carrier on an AWB, or is it needed to be stated separately that Malaysian airlines is actually the carrier. Please explain the logic behind this.

Thanking you in advance.

Kapil

I see your point - but it seems to me that the rules are rather clear - and in this example the carrier is more implied than indicated - and that is not enough.

See also ISBP paragraph 137 - which reads "indicate the name of the carrier identified as carrier".

So I would not consider this in compliance with article 23.

Best regards

Kim

Usually airway bills have a box named “by first carrier”. In such box you don’t find the whole name of the airline but only the IATA airline code.

For Malaysia Airlines the IATA code is MAS. So, if the AWB shows “MAS” as carrier, the document is acceptable

Otherwise, the document is discrepant.

Regards,

Bogdan