Besides sewing and quilting, I also play the violin. There is always a lot of discussion amongst violinists about the fears of traveling with a fiddle. Everyone's terrified that the airlines take their instruments away from them and put them in cargo. There's been lots of horror stories about smashed and damaged instruments. Both, sewing machines and violins, are so fragile, so I think that the travel requirements are very similar. I've never traveled with my beloved sewing machines, but I've had some close calls with my violins.
Whatever you do, don't let them talk you into putting it into the cargo hold! It will surely get damaged. They may try to take it from you. If they do, just start crying and carrying on about how it is so precious to you...really...I've done this myself...AND it works! Another time, I was on a short haul flight and the attendant at the gate reached out to take my violin from me to put in the cargo bin. I snapped it away from her hands and bellowed out, "NO!" That worked too...hee...hee! I can be mean and scary when I want to be. There are rules, but the attendants know that some rules are meant to be broken.
Bon Voyage!
~ C