If the "update" also includes removing all the ports except USB-C, getting rid of MagSafe, and switching to an inferior keyboard design to save a few fractions of a millimeter, I don't see much to look forward to.

Seems more likely that Apple will simply discontinue the Air and that the MacBook represents their new vision of what laptops ought to be like.

Agreed. Discontinuing the Air seems much more likely. This is so aggravating to me. Air + retina display would have been the perfect laptop for years now, but they simply refused to make it. I hate many of the changes Apple has been making instead, and the new keyboard is an absolute deal-breaker. Don't know how I will ever willingly give Apple my money again...

Your general skepticism about other aspects of the coming revision of the MacBook Air may be warranted -- nevertheless a retina display would be a great improvement.

Further, if your prediction is correct, why wouldn't Apple already have canceled the Air? what you describe is already on the market: the escape-less MacBook.

I don't feel as skeptical or negative about Apple's plans for new laptops. We shall see, soon!

I do actually suspect the Air will disappear as an offer in due time.

When the Air was released, it had too many limitations, and too high a cost, to take over the macbook's role. Its primary market was people who really valued the mobility over all else. But as they iterated it closed the gap, until it overtook the macbook, and the macbook offer shrivelled up and died.

If you swap 'macbook' and 'Air' in that narrative, you see history repeating - today we're at the first step of that. "The new macbook" is too limited and too expensive to take the Air's place, but give them a few iterations, and I suspect the Air will become unnecessary in the line-up.