The price you're quoting is for the US. I suspect his price has UK VAT or something added in because a similarly spec'd MacBook Air is only $1299 in the US. So it is not "double", we're talking about $200 - an 18% price difference.
Furthermore, the Air starts at $999. It's hardly gratuitously expensive. In fact, it is extremely hard to beat in terms of value-per-dollar.
Furthermore, the Air starts at $999. It's hardly gratuitously expensive. In fact, it is extremely hard to beat in terms of value-per-dollar.