I had four or five gens of MBA over the years and generally agree. The new form factor is just not the same. It is much more like a how I'd envision design on some modern "Macbook" proper.
But the Air brand has been so successful, I think they just called it that knowing it would help move units.
That said, I use MBA M2 for my main machine and its so powerful and has such a fantastic battery life it is still the best Mac I've had since 2015 MBA.
I really enjoy the wedge shape of the original MBA that was maintained until the 2020 MBA M1, they feel better to my wrists than the 13 in MBA M2.
The 15in MBA M2 however feels to me like a 2012 15in MBP (I had one of those as well). Except for the relative lack of ports which didn’t bother me too much so far.
But the Air brand has been so successful, I think they just called it that knowing it would help move units.
That said, I use MBA M2 for my main machine and its so powerful and has such a fantastic battery life it is still the best Mac I've had since 2015 MBA.