The economy in the UK, much like in the US, has been slowing considerably. Some people--budget airlines for example--are actually pretty pleased about this. Their customers are turning to the cheap, no-frills airlines to keep their holidays on budget.

After it released strong passenger numbers, EasyJet said to The Guardian that the biggest danger facing the airline industry is the global oil price of $100+. Hedging, or betting on the future price of oil, is no longer an option because airlines are unwilling to peg their fuel costs at $100 a barrel. EasyJet has hedged 40% of its fuel needs until September at $75 a barrel. Then what? Things might not be so easy for EasyJet come this fall.

Frequent travelers of Europe's budget airlines have known for years that the industry relies, to a certain extent, on misleading, if not outright false, advertising.

Usually this has to do with their pricing. Log onto any of the big European budget carriers -- easyJet, Ryanair or Germanwings, for instance -- and you'll be hit with a great offer. Take Germanwings, for instance. You'll see them pimping April flights from Zagreb, Croatia to Cologne for €5. Not bad. Click on it, choose a random set of dates (say an April 8 departure and an April 16 return) and you can get both legs for €14. Ah, but then the tax is figured in, and that trip is now €77.36 (more than $120).

European budget airlines don't usually come under fire for this because (1.) technically there was a flight in this case for €5 and (2.) they make it clear that the prices they pimp often do not include taxes. But that doesn't completely wash off the stench of 'scam' in my book, if simply because I always feel like the promotions these airlines run and the ridiculously cheap prices they quote reflect how stupid they think consumers are. Obviously we're not smart enough to view a €77 round-trip plane ticket as still a pretty good deal.

So, it's nice when one of these carriers gets busted for not playing it straight with customers. This has just happened to easyJet, which was running a special recently along the lines of "book by Friday and if you find a better price, we'll pay you up to triple the difference."

Well, a Swiss woman did just that, and then played hell trying to get the Luton, England-based airline to pay up. It claimed the woman hadn't delivered proof, and then tried something along the lines of saying she had not found a comparable ticket, since it was a competitor's return fare she found rather than the two single fairs (there and back) she booked on easyJet. Gimme a break, right?

That's what Britain's Advertising Standards Authority essentially said. They've ruled the easyJet promotion was misleading, since the fine print implied that the refund was easy to claim, when it really was like dealing with the IRS. Only bookings made at certain times and dates were eligible. Refund requests had to be made within an hour of the original booking. And so on. The Guardian newspaper reports the whole sordid tale.

There was good news for the Swiss woman, however. EasyJet told the Guardian that she would receive close to $1,500 in her bank account within a week.

We've all seen the one cent ultra-cheap fares that Ryanair, Easyjet and and other low cost carriers (LCCs) frequently offer from European hubs. It's a great way to skip around the EU if you're flexible and haven't got a lot of cash; it thus has recently become pretty popular with students and vacationers on a limited budget.

And as most of us know, the one cent fares come with strings attached. Taxes and fees can add multiple dollars and fees and constraints on routings often require you to travel to an out-of-the-way airport in order to catch a flight at a strange time of the day. Additionally, extra charges during transit such as baggage and meal purchases can add further cost to an airplane journey.

Needless to say, when traveling over a longer distance, it's usually a good idea to take the low cost carrier, plan well and be frugal during your travels. But over shorter distances accessible by rail or coach, that line blurs.

Budget Airlines, like Europe's EasyJet, complain that they're carrying the burden of concern about air travel's environmental impact. EasyJet's Chief Executive Andy Harrison argues that taxes should be based on the efficiency of planes and the distance traveled rather than being a per-passenger duty, claiming that budget airlines' fleets are newer and thus more efficient than traditional airlines.

While I don't think that budget airlines alone should be charged with "ruining the planet," I do think it's difficult to ignore the impact of cheap and quick airfare on less environmentally-damaging overland travel, like rail. That's not necessarily the airlines' fault though -- they're simply meeting travelers' demands.

What do you think?

Those 1P (or better yet -- FREE!) airfares you can find in England aboard Ryanair or some similar budget carrier sure are exciting after the exorbitant prices we've been paying ever since Air Travel became an industry. But they're a bit deceptive, don't you think? You don't ever actually pay 1p. For example, I booked a flight for ₤20 and when all was said and done, it ended up being ₤60. And that's before any excess baggage surcharges.

The Office of Fair Trading thinks these ultra-low prices are deceptive too, and they've ordered airlines to start being more upfront about their pricing. This means they'll have to start padding their prices with the cost of non-optional fixed extras like fuel surcharges and air passenger taxes. And if they don't comply, they'll find themselves in court.

In all honesty, I don't mind the low-low air fares, even if it is shady marketing. At least it makes me feel like I'm getting a deal, even if It's only for the few precious moments before I click that dreaded 'Calculate' button.