Macbook Air 11" died. Questions about repair

First, to qualify myself, I've been tinkering with computers for nearly 30 years and spent 10 years working in IT.
Last night my MBA 11" died. First it wouldn't wake up from the screen going blank due to inactivity. Then on reboot it locked up after booting a couple times. Now, the screen stays black and the fan ramps up to max speed within a minute of turning it on.
I've done all the multi-finger reset tricks, didn't do a thing. It's clearly toast.
My question isn't diagnosing the problem, but rather what to expect from Apple for the repair. It seems likely that the logic board has failed, and in a perfect repair scenario I'd go down to the Apple store and a tech would swap out the logic board and send me on my way within 30 minutes. Of course, things never work the way they should.
My concern is the data on my SSD. I've got papers for grad school and photos that I'm sure the Apple techs would like to copy and distribute. In a separate perfect scenario they would take out my SSD and hand it to my in an anti-static bag for safekeeping while the machine was repaired/replaced, and then put it back in.
Fearing the worst from Apple's repair staff, I have ordered the special screw driver to open up the machine so I can swap the SSD into my girlfriend's identical machine and secure my data. Yes, I know this "voids" the warranty, but they'll have no way of knowing I've been inside (read first paragraph again). Of course, pointers on how to be stealth in this endeavor would be appreciated. I have the right tools, and will wear gloves...
So, what's the standard Apple Store repair procedure for this machine?

You have a 1 year warranty, contact Apple and let Apple take care of your problem. It's really that simple!
If the machine is less than 90 days old call AppleCare (the number is in your owners manual) if it's older than 90 days you can make an appointment with your local Apple Store to bring it in or bring it into an AASP.
If you have been backing up your can easily restore your data, if you haven't now you can see why you need to. If you're data is worth more to you than the value of the computer then go ahead and take the risk of doing the surgery you're proposing. My recommendation is doing some more trouble shooting. Telling us "done all the multi-finger reset tricks..." tells us nothing at all, please be more specific.
As for your data being secure Apple could care less about what it is, remember they're a multi billion dollar company that take their customer's data security very seriously. They're the target, not you!

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