The benefits of the "exponentially less air" diminish once you have to slap an aerosurface on the vehicle (added weight + drag) to perform the pitch up maneuver

The benefits of the "exponentially less air" diminish once you have to slap an aerosurface on the vehicle (added weight + drag) to perform the pitch up maneuver Coupled with the fact that on deployment the vehicle is gaining velocity in the wrong direction until the engines ignite, accelerate forwards, and the vehicle begins the turn. The theoretical benefits of air launch quickly fade away given these practical realities. Nevermind the much more complex operations that comes with air launch. There's a reason why air launch has more or less died as an idea. The theoretical savings don't typically manifest once the additional complexities are accounted for.