100% competent touch typist here, typing on my non-backlit 2008 aluminum Macbook.
I would love to see a backlit keyboard on the 2011 MBA. Sure I can type paragraphs just fine without seeing the keys, but sometimes finding punctuation, function keys, or the fn/ctrl/alt keys (I go back and forth between Windows and Apple keyboards a lot) can be frustrating.
Just a small amount of backlight would be fine and would make using the computer a lot easier in dark situations. Sure you can get along just fine without it, I get along just fine without it right now, but when you're paying so much money for a premium laptop why should you have to squint and strain your eyes when all of the other premium Apple laptops have it as a standard feature?
My thought is that margins were very thin (by Apple standards
) when they released these new MBAs with standard SSDs, just like margins were thin with the first generation of unibody Macbooks.
Next revision the component and manufacturing costs should be a bit lower so I can see them throwing it back in. If they do I'll probably get a specced out 13" Air, if not I'll go with the 13" Pro which strangely still lacks the high res screen.