BRE questions how many Siemens employees fly. I don't know, but of the relatively limited number of European committees I go to (8), 6 of them have at least one regular Siemens attendee, two of them have two attendees and one has three. So 1% may well be a bit low.
I had the argument with our purchasing department about Ryanair. First, it didn't fly to Arlanda, which was the right side of Stockholm for our plant. Second, it didn't fly from Heathrow, adding at least an hour or an hour and a half to the journey. Thirdly, if you needed a flight within 72 hours, it was rarely any cheaper! Getting it into the heads of people in purchasing or corporate travel that the total cost must include the time taken is hard, as they all feel you travel in your own time. Which we did, but it had to go on the time sheet, and so was charged against the project.
The final stupidity was when we were told that the corporate agent charged £30 to get us a ticket. When I was able to show that I could get the same ticket at the same price on BA, but only costing £4.50, I was told to go and do it.
Many years ago, at a certain large company, the company travel agent changed and it was mandatory to use them. The travel company CEO was the wife of the Finance Director of the large company..........
Travel agents - I avoid them, just as I avoid Ryanair, and for the same reasons - I don't get the service I want.