It is a tricky one this, as obviously Star Wars Starfighters CAN operate in an atmosphere as they have to reach space in the first place. It's not like for instance Babylon 5's Starfurys which are designed to only work in the vacuum of space.

That said, the majority of Star Wars Starfighters are not the most aerodynamic of designs, so I believe there are valid arguments for both cases. The way I see it is this, Starfighters can operate in an atmosphere, after all we have bombers which would not be of much use only in space. However they do not operate at nearly the same efficiency as they do in space, after all their primary role is that of a spacecraft.

And this is where the Airspeeders come in, they are designed specifically to operate in an atmosphere, and only in an atmosphere, so they will be performing at the peak of their abilities, they are for the most part very sleek and aerodynamic and would most likely fly rings around most Starfighters when in an atmospheric environment. Also good points raised earlier in this thread include cost. After all an Airspeeder must cost a whole lot less than a Starfighter when you don't have to worry about Hyperdrives, Navi Computers and Life Support Systems, not to mention that added hull integrity required to survive in the vacuum of space.

Also you have the additional factor that a Starfighter's main Ion Drive is supposed to be quite toxic, hence the use of Repulsorlifts on take off. They only engage their main drives at altitude, and don't really let rip until they hit space. But then you also have the issue of why Starfighters were not used on Hoth? You can only guess at the reasons, obviously the real reason is George Lucas wanted to introduce us to some cool new craft. Maybe Starfighters are too difficult to pilot at low altitudes in a combat situation, or Echo Base's planetary shield screwed with their systems? Who knows?

In short I argue that Starfighters can indeed be used in atmosphere, as seen in the movies they fly up to space from ground level, and are seen in combat situations at high altitude over Bespin. However they have limited capability compared to when in space, so Airspeeders are a better option as they are designed specifically to operate in that environment.

Heh, that is really grasping at straws on their part. "Torpedoes in short supply" ?

Well, torpedoes were in short supply in A New Hope.

And of course starfighters can operate in atmosphere. Having said that, I'd like to see the T-16 and T-47 in FS too. The V-Wing just looks silly, though, in my view.

I don't understand why you were complaining. There were lots of speeders in GC.