1) Handlebars off, turned, and zip tied to the frame ... so they aren't dangling by the cables.
2) Pedals off and in a ziplock bag.
3) Seatpost marked and removed with the seat attached
4) Wheels off, skewers out (skewers go into the ziplock bag too)
5) Tape the ziplock bag to your frame or rack or whatever so it doesn't fall out of the hand-holds.

All neatly tucked into a cardboard box.

Easy!!

And easy to reassemble too.


You can check your bicycle without a box, but they will likely give you a large plastic bag to put it in ... before they sling it into the hold.

And please read the following site carefully before you proceed:

http://www.ibike.org/encouragement/travel/bagregs.htm

That site will provide you with lots of info about what to expect in terms of costs ... with links to the airlines.