Extract Air Waybill Data to Excel — Any Carrier, Any Format
Upload an AWB from DHL, FedEx, UPS, or any IATA airline. Type the fields you need — AWB Number, Airport Codes, Weight, Flight — and get a clean spreadsheet in 5–10 seconds per page, with no template configuration.
Up to 99% accuracy on printed AWBs · No templates required · Files not stored after processing
What You Can Extract from an Air Waybill
Type the column names you need — the AI locates each value across the document by understanding what it means, not where it sits on the page.
Why Air Waybills Resist Template-Based OCR
AWBs follow IATA standards, but every airline and freight forwarder adds their own reference numbers in different positions. A DHL AWB and a FedEx AWB share the same IATA fields but scatter airline-specific codes across different sections of the page — making fixed-template extraction unreliable.
Where Traditional OCR Falls Short
Every carrier formats fields differently. A FedEx AWB puts the Airline Code near the top-right corner; a DHL AWB places it below the barcode block. A Lufthansa Cargo AWB splits Handling Information across two columns. Template-based OCR needs a separate configuration per carrier — and breaks the moment any carrier updates its form layout.
Reference numbers appear in unpredictable locations. Beyond IATA-standard fields, airlines and forwarders layer in their own booking numbers, internal reference codes, and accounting notations. These extra fields vary by carrier and sit in different positions — left margin, bottom section, or alongside the barcode — making static template mapping impossible.
Mixed content: print, handwriting, stamps, and barcodes. AWBs routinely contain typed fields, handwritten weight corrections, customs stamps, and barcodes on a single page. Traditional OCR reads these as one undifferentiated text stream — a handling instruction annotation gets merged with the goods description line, producing garbled output.
How Column-Name Extraction Handles It
You name the fields, the AI finds them. Type AWB Number | Origin Airport | Destination Airport | Shipper | Consignee | Gross Weight and the AI locates each value anywhere on the page — by understanding what the field means semantically, not by reading a fixed pixel position.
Section-aware reading preserves context. The AI reads the AWB the way an air freight specialist would — it understands that "Consignee" is the receiving party block, not just any company name on the page, and that the weight in the cargo section is separate from the handling fee section. Field-level understanding prevents cross-section data confusion.
One column setup works across all carriers. Upload AWBs from DHL, FedEx, UPS, Emirates SkyCargo, and Lufthansa in a single batch. The same column definitions apply to all of them — the output is one unified Excel file, one row per air waybill, regardless of how each carrier scatters its reference codes.
From AWB Stack to Consolidated Shipment Tracker
For freight forwarders, customs brokers, and logistics teams processing daily air waybills, here's what the end-to-end workflow looks like.
Upload your AWB documents
Drop in a batch of AWB PDFs, scanned images, or smartphone photos — from any carrier. PDFs exported from airline portals and photographed AWBs from receiving docks can be mixed in the same upload. Processing runs at 5–10 seconds per page.
Type the columns you need
Enter field names that match your reporting workflow — standard ones like AWB Number | Origin Airport | Destination Airport | Pieces | Gross Weight, or customs-specific ones like Harmonized Code | Declared Value | Country of Origin. You can also define a computed column like Actual Weight (Gross − Tare) and the AI calculates it during extraction.
Download the Excel output
Export to XLSX, CSV, or JSON. Every AWB becomes one row in the output table — ready for TMS import, customs filing prep, or paste into your shipment tracking spreadsheet. Google Sheets users can use the sidebar add-on to extract results directly into an active sheet without leaving Sheets.
When It Works Best — and When to Review Results
Accuracy is high for standard AWB documents. A few specific conditions affect results — worth knowing before processing a large batch.
When it works best
IATA-standard AWBs from major carriers. FedEx, DHL, UPS, Emirates SkyCargo, Qatar Cargo, Lufthansa Cargo, and other airlines using standard IATA AWB layouts produce near-perfect extraction accuracy.
PDFs exported from airline or freight management systems. Machine-generated AWBs from carrier portals, CargoWise, or other TMS platforms extract with the highest reliability.
Smartphone photos of physical AWBs. Photos taken in good dock or office lighting reliably extract standard fields, including handwritten annotations and stamped corrections.
Worth a spot-check
Non-standard carrier layouts. AWBs from smaller regional carriers or non-IATA forwarders that deviate significantly from IATA field positioning may produce lower confidence on some fields — review the extracted values.
Heavily over-stamped AWBs. When customs or handling stamps directly cover printed fields, the AI flags uncertain values. Review these before using the data in downstream systems.
House AWB and Master AWB on the same document. When both HAWB and MAWB numbers appear, verify they are extracted to the correct columns and not swapped. Adding explicit columns like MAWB Number | HAWB Number improves disambiguation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can your AWB scanner read handwritten or stamped information on air waybills?
Yes. The AI uses visual understanding to decipher handwritten annotations, rubber stamps, and pre-printed text on AWBs, accurately extracting key fields like AWB numbers, flight details, and weight corrections even when they overlap with printed fields. Unlike basic OCR that treats stamps as noise, the AI understands them as data-bearing annotations.
Does it work with AWBs from different carriers — DHL, FedEx, UPS, and airline-issued?
Yes. The tool uses column-name extraction — you type the fields you need and the AI locates them anywhere on the page by understanding what they mean. A DHL AWB, a FedEx AWB, a UPS AWB, and a Lufthansa Cargo AWB all produce the same structured output from the same column setup, even when processed together in a mixed batch. Standard IATA fields like AWB Number, Origin/Destination Airport, and Weight are reliably extracted regardless of the carrier's layout.
Can I batch process dozens of AWBs into a single tracking spreadsheet?
Yes. Upload multiple AWB files at once — PDFs, scanned images, or photos — and the tool processes all of them with the same column definitions, merging results into one Excel file with one row per air waybill. For teams collecting AWBs from carriers or field staff, the Collection Link feature generates a shareable upload link so others can submit documents directly to your processing queue without needing an account.
Does it extract House AWB and Master AWB numbers separately?
Yes. Add MAWB Number and HAWB Number as separate columns, and the AI will extract each to the correct column. When both appear on the same document, the AI distinguishes between them based on the surrounding context, label text, and position on the page, so consolidation-level data stays properly separated.
What about DG (dangerous goods) declarations and special handling codes?
Dangerous goods declarations attached to AWBs are extracted as part of the Handling Information or as a separate section depending on your column setup. Add a column for DG Class, UN Number, or Special Handling Code and the AI finds and extracts these fields. For completeness, review DG-related fields before using them for regulatory filings.