If someone else is doing the loading, I would strongly consider a hard shell. Reasonably water resistant and definitely baggage handler resistant. I use a Samsonite and it's pretty tough. Every so often I have to replace the wheels but it's about 5 years old and has lasted a lot longer than any Travelpro I have owned.
I do tours of 6 days and that often means airlining. For piece of mind I secure it with a pacsafe strap and that also helps with the identification on the carousel.
Many colleagues use Samsonite and the more flush ones use a Rimowa. There's the alu ones and the plastic. The alu looks flash but the dents remain.