Thanks so much everyone for taking the time to post. As of right now, barring any major negative reviews coming out, I am going to return the MB and get the MBA. Everyone here made great points so I kept a running list and I think for my needs the MBA seems to be the best value for the money. I also thought about a newer model MBP since the prices and weight are similar to the MBA too. I only compared the base model cpu's and RAM with the upgraded storage I need, to keep the dollar comparisons as simple as possible. It's also just a basic list of the advantages for each, which I consider to be of varying importance to me at this time.
12" MB/ d-c i5 (1.3 GHz)/ 512GB/8GB RAM: $1599 - smallest and lightest at 2.03lbs so perfect for portability and travel. (Fits perfectly on airline tray tables from what I've read

)
13" MBA/ d-c i5 (1.6 GHz)/512Gb/8GB RAM: $1599 - bigger screen, 2.75lbs, gen 3 keyboard, touch ID, extra port, best battery life ( great for my travel too), better speakers
13" ntb MBP/ d-c i5 (2.3 GHz)/512GB/8GB RAM: $1699 - bigger screen, 3.02lbs, more powerful, better graphics/display, extra port, better speakers
13" MBP/ q-c i5 (2.3 GHz )/512GB/8GB RAM: $1999 - bigger screen, 3.02lbs, most powerful, better display, gen 3 keyboard, touch bar and touch id, better graphics/display, extra ports, better speakers
My usage mainly comprises of writing and editing documents, spreadsheets, very occasional light photo and video editing, emails, web browsing, and some netflix/movies etc during travel. I'm willing to sacrifice some power and graphics for other features that are more important for me but I still need it to perform well enough to handle the tasks. I think all models listed above should work for my needs, and all are lighter than what I currently have which is a big plus for me. I travel 1-2 times per month and carry it with me every day so the weight and battery life are a bit more important to me than other things such as graphics or speakers etc.
So narrowing it all down ( and for the TL DR crowd

) I think the MBA is currently the best compromise of price, features and weight for my needs, so fingers crossed I'm making the right decision! Thanks again for all your input!