British Airways aims to decide before the end of the year whether to move into the European low-cost airline market, a senior industry source said. The airline has been looking at the idea of creating a new low-cost carrier or investing in an existing operator to get into the market for cut-price travel being developed by carriers like Ryanair, EasyJet, Debonair and Virgin Express following deregulation of the European market. He said if BA decided to go ahead, any BA low-cost venture would be operated as a stand-alone business under a separate brand from the main airline.