Hahah, just a warning.. I just asked my friend if he ever saw people flying with their bikes when he worked on the tarmac and he said yes, and he would never trust the airlines with his bike.

He worked for Delta for 2ish years loading baggage onto planes. They don't have any special procedures for handling luggage differently. If it makes it through the flight unscathed, it's probably luck more than anything (if you fly with it bagged).