Why not see if the airline has a cargo facility? Most airlines do and there can even be a way to ship it on the flight you are on. Cargo can be tracked better too (ie it is scanned when it departs and when it is received) so there might be better record as to where the bike is at any point in time. The only down side is there might be documentation required security-wise (ie if there is no shipper history) but that could be found out in advance.

I don't think TSA takes great joy in taking stuff apart. I've seen some great TSA people (along with bad ones but that goes true for any profession) and I think the department is really working on improving their image. I really don't think it makes their day to do additional screening either (just had to get that out there) and they are just people doing their job. Same goes for traffic/parking enforcement or any other group that makes us feel singled out as a person or cyclist or whatever else we are. Odds are, they are doing their job instead of getting some sadistic pleasure in making us uncomfortable.

Pack the bike well no matter how it is shipped. Even if ground handlers are careful, each time the bag is moved (ie from a baggage cart to a belt loader to a plane and off again multiplied by however many connections), there is a chance of something being on top of it or something going awry. Bags/cargo are stacked inside the igloo (if it's a freighter) or belly and it's not like the plane knows "oops...better be gentle" if there is something fragile onboard.

I know for any method you decide on, someone is going to have a bad experience using the same method. That just is. Remember though that the bad experiences are probably the minority of total business for the shipper. When I lived in Calif, UPS was unreliable and really kind of sketchy and FedEx was THE way to ensure something arrived on time. I don't know if it was the regional office or what...but that was only in that one location and I've never had any UPS problems anywhere else that I've lived.

rant over