We do need both characters with
- makron ā (which is e.g. but not exclusively for a long pronounciation, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macron) and
- tilde ã (which represents an abbreviation like the replacement for an "n" after the letter, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tilde)
in the wiki.
So there is a difference between a "straight line" (makron) and a "slightly curved line" (tilde), even if the "slightly curved line" in the original text doesn't look 100% like a perfect tilde.