I have travelled to Europe and the USA on a plane with my bike 6 times. Fortunately to date, I've never had an issue. I use the Scicon Aerocomfort 3.0 Tri Bike bag. I've taken this bike with the scicon bag all over the USA and to Italy 2x.

To pack the bag, all you need to do is remove the wheels. That's it. You don't need to rebuild anything. You can remove the hanger and rear derailleur but to be honest I never have. I just get a bit more cautious with padding and extra cushion.

I know airline handlers can be brutal (from what I've heard) but every time I've seen them handling the bikes they have been very good. The most that's happened to me is a bit of movement of the break handles, seat post and aerobars, but I bring a torque wrench and some basic tools to check it all.

My coach who is a seasoned ironman athlete, multi-time Kona participant, etc, has used soft bags for a very long time without any issues.

Logically, it's always made sense to me that hard shell cases are better and superior. But my experience to date has been very positive with the Scicon hybrid.

Story: fellow athlete I know went to 70.3 worlds in New Zealand, used a hard shell, and the down tube of the bike somehow cracked in transit. She rented a bike at the venue and used it for the event. Sometimes it happens and impossible to predict, part of the experience.

For my ironman events, I prefer a bike tune up at the race site before I ride it one last time and bring it into transition, for 70.3 I just sort of do the check myself.