That's a tricky question. If you have firearm in a suitcase and that suit case is not in your hand it is not concealed in the eyes of the law, If you are carrying that suitcase or have it by the handle, it is then "On your person," and is then concealed in the eyes of the law. Will anyone ever know? the chances are slim that your firearm will ever be discovered unless you say something about it.[/QUOTE]
I have had in the past the need to take a firearm with me on a commercial flight. After calling McCarran airport, I was instructed to have the firearm with no mag. unloaded in a lock box. Full loaded mags could be locked up in the same box as the firearm. The lock box was then to be in one of my regular luggage container. I was only carrying a backpack and had the lock box in it. I went up to the luggage check in and as directed said I want to declare a firearm and the young lady said very well she needed to see it. I unzipped the backpack pulled the lock box out, unlocked it and she checked to see it was in fact unloaded and in a locked box, she tagged it, I locked the box put it in the backpack and the backpack went on with the checked on baggage and she said thank you. The lock box I used is the plastic one that came with my 40xd. I do believe had the firearm not been fully unloaded when she checked it would have been a very long day for me. I did not want my firearm removed from the box so I did install a soft cable lock through the slide and mag slot so it was obvious it was unloaded without taking it out of the lock box. If a firearm is rendered unusable, it is no longer is considered a weapon.