Budget airlines to Europe

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There are 5 of us and anything on a mainstream airline is like $1500 for when I need to go and I just can't justify spending that much just on flights.

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TAP is absolutely mainstream, though perhaps not the most highly-regarded mainstream airline. Norse and Bee are low-cost carriers.

I flew TAP a few years ago in biz and had a great flight. I would definitely fly them again, but as I said, TAP is not generally considered to have exemplary service.

Try Turkish. TAP is a mainstream airline (I've never flown, I take Lufthansa, United or Turkish out of IAH) but has a lot of great deals.

Look for different departing airports, and be willing to move your dates a couple of days in each direction. The biggest budget killer is a lack of flexibility. Can you fly into Brussels instead of Paris? London and take the train to Paris? Arrive on Tuesday instead of Friday? etc.
As always, use ITA:
LINK

We flew Norse. No issues.

Take the trains within Europe. Much more scenic and less expensive too.

Never been on TAP but my spanish friends hate it. Also beware of LEVEL, the budget carrier owned by Iberia. I bought first class seats at a really good price a few years ago and the bargain was obvious - no champagne and pampering like British Airways, just really big comfy seats. It seemed like a really good deal, until the seats wouldn't recline and the staff didn't care.