We've hosted pros over the past few years for our 70.3. The first year, the pro had her bike in a very light soft sided bag. Another one flew in with a bike in a cardboard bike box. It had gotten quite beat up on the last leg of his trip, so he got a new bike box from our LBS. No issue with his Shiv. And another pro had his bike packed in a hockey bag - mind you, he had it packed down with having the cranks off - but that was a way to prevent the airline fee.

We have travelled many times with our bikes (probably about 4 times per year) and so far, only one cracked front fork on my husband's bike. We have soft sided bags and use pipe insulation around all the frame securing with duct tape and then also have cut pieces of foam mattress pads that we use to add more support. and to wrap around the other exposed parts. Knock on wood, we've had fairly good luck given all the travel. Now, don't ask me how much we've spent in airline fees for the bikes....this is the bag we have (and that guy is neither of us!! photo found on google! LOL!):