It's hard to say. I bought the Chromebook because I have a Macbook Pro but I wanted something lighter, cheaper, and with better battery life to use in class and on the go. I really wanted a MacBook air but at $250 versus $1000+ I couldn't justify the upgrade. I think if you already have the MBA you can probably avoid the Chromebook for now as the use case is largely the same. However if you want something cheap and light to browse the internet and use Google Docs/SSH on the couch then go for it, you won't regret the purchase.