My step-daughter will be getting married in May in Denver.  We live in Cincinnati.  It is a small back-yard wedding with about 30 people.  She wants me to make her cake for her.  We have found out through TSA that we could travel with one, you just have to go through extra security measures.........or I was thinking of freezing the cake and trying to ship it with dry ice.  It will be a 10" and 8" round cake that I can stack once there.  I was going to cover them both in fondant and then finish decorating once we arrive in Denver.  Does anybody have any experience with traveling with cakes or shipping them..............I'll take any ideas/suggestions I can get.  Thanks so much.  

I fly with cakes all of the time and I've never had a problem with TSA. No additional screening, just jokes about needing to do an "E A T" scan--haha.

We always fly Southwest and had no problem putting cakes in the overhead bin--BUT, they've got some planes now with bins that tip up when closed, so I now plan for all cakes to fit under the seat in front of me.  That space is pretty generous 19Wx19Lx9H.  When on the floor, the things to be aware of are that window seats can generate extra heat  at the floor level if the sun is shining on that side of the plane and, when the plane is in a steep climb, you may need to brace the box with your food so that it doesn't shift.

If I were in your shoes, I'd fly with the two tiers on their boards in 2 separate sturdy boxes.  I'd make sure that the boxes fit the boards tightly.  They could be frozen or not, just crumb coated or fully iced, whatever you like.  Icings and/or fillings would need to be shelf stable.  I'd actually cover them in their fondant, but that could wait if you prefer.  I'd pack all of my tools and fondant together in my checked luggage and put a large note in with them explaining that it's all for my daughter's wedding cake.  The fondant would be new and unopened.

I've never shipped a cake.  Besides the expense, I just prefer to be the one in control of situation.

I made my son's wedding cake in a Las Vegas Strip condo 8 years ago. It was huge, so I flew with naked layers in boxes as my carry on and 63lbs. of tools, buttercream, and fondant as checked luggage. I got a love note from the TSA because they did look through the checked bag, but no problems, really.  This is the completed cake.

Thank you very much for the great advice! I'm pretty sure we will carry them on the plane. Like you said, at least we have some control over them that way.  I'll have to let you know how it worked out after we get back! 

Your cake is awesome by the way! Great job!!!

Thanks!

I hope it all goes smoothly for you.  I'd love to see your finished cake.