Flying with Bikes

International 

American Airlines – charge $30 per bike within the standard weight limit (23 kg).

According to their website, they charge $150 for overweight bags up to 32 kg. <Forum post>

ANA allows 292 cm for L+W+H up to standard weight limit (23 kg). <Forum post>

British Airways – allows bicycles for free up to 190 cm length as part of standard weight limit.

Hawaiian Airlines – charge $150 per flight for bikes. <Forum post>

JAL allows 203 cm for L+W+H up to standard weight limit (23 kg). For larger bike cases, they charge 20,000 yen per flight. <Forum post 1> <Forum post 2>

Jetstar (Australian LCC) charges 24,000 yen for bikes (20,000 yen for extra bag + 4,000 yen for oversized). <Forum post>

KLM charges 100 euros per trip for pre-booked bikes. <Forum post>

Domestic

JAL and ANA allow bike cases on most domestic flights. You have to sign a damage claim waiver, but baggage handlers have a great reputation in Japan, so many triathletes use soft cases and rinko bags. 

However, for some races, especially to smaller islands, the planes are too small to take bikes. Goto and Tokunoshima races both require you to send your bike by courier. Sagawa will take bicycles.

Bicycle Cases

Cardboard Box – you can get boxes free from bicycle shops; free and disposable; they can be cut down to 203 cm L+W+H, but for larger frames you may have to remove the forks.

Post Transfer Case – semi-rigid soft case which folds down to a backpack when not in use. Tim Smith of GS Astuto has these cases on his website with a 10% discount for TiT members (code is on members-only forum).

Ostrich OS-500 Travel Bag - padded soft case; great for domestic flights, and fine for international if you wrap the pike in extra padding. 

Qbicle Porter – a corrugated plastic box which fits in the 203 cm dimensions <Forum post>

Scicon AeroComfort 3.0 TSA Bike Travel Bag – very popular with triathletes, but expensive and bulky <Forum post>; you can avoid oversized charges with JAL by removing the seatpost and squashing down the bag. <Forum post>

CO2 Cartridges

CO2 Cartridges – everyone has different experiences travelling with CO2 tyre inflator cartridges. The rule is that they cannot be put in checked-in luggage. However, all airlines should allow a CO2 cartridge in a life jacket (PFD) as carry-on baggage, which means that you can take a Restube on the plane with you. You have to tell the security staff before it is scanned. JAL has information <here>. <Forum post>

Other

Keep Upright label - label in Japanese asking for a case to be kept upright. May help with soft cases.