traveling..

That will be one long trip on the bike. Take power bars and magnesium!!!

I've flown with the bike a few times. Often the airlines have rules (at least in Europe). Some require bags others are stict about getting air out of the tyres. You'll have to check with your carrier.

Airlines are not allowed to carry compressed air so they should ask you to deflate the tyres. However, the relative pressure in the hold is never more than 1 bar away from atmospheric so you'll be fine to leave a bit in to stop tyre damage (if they'll let you). If you have to deflate totally then I recomend you box the bike with wheels removed.
Mail order companies usually ship bikes in boxes, which are very good and low cost. Sometimes you can order just the box without a bike. A freind of mine has an expensive hard case, which takes the bike and wheels separately. He's never had a scratch on the bike. You can also rent these cases but that might not be best for you since you'd need to get it returned.

The other advantage with the box is that expensive components don't get pinched.

I don't recomend a bag or soft case. Bags tend to get thrown around at the airport. You're likely to see more damage that just giving the bike up complete.

Having said that, when I was at uni I just purchased a second hand beater bike for 200 pounds. It was good enough for a nice ride but not nice enough to get stolen. I think many university campuses have their share of bike thieves. The cost of the second bike was less than the cost of buying a box and tranporting the bike. Plus no hassel bringing the bike with every trip home. Afterward I resold the bike for about 100 pounds.