get over to laptopsdirect and ye'll get a decent netbook for around 350-400 that will more than do the job.. as always I'd suggest Toshiba as there damn fine machines but Asus, HP, and there's others..
as it's travel 10-11 inch screen so not to big and noticeable, 6-8hour battery life, make sure it has a HD, put a decent software tracker on it [just in case] windows 7...
and btw when I say software tracker I mean the type that cannot be removed by formatting the HD, so if worse comes to worse ye can track the machine...
Terrible idea to spend 1500 on a travel laptop - too expensive for that purpose - could easliy get lost or stolen.
I a currently using a Samsung NC10 while abroad - tis the jawb. Got it off Amazon for 280 Euro. Wouldn't spend anymore just in case i lose it, break it or it gets stolen - all far more likely when on the road.
Asus's UL30 series might be worth a look. The processor isn't the most powerful, but the battery life is fantastic, it usually comes with a very large harddrive (500gb) a lot of RAM, it's small, light and very similar to the Air, but a third the price.