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manwings in bester Erinnerung geblie-
ben. Außerdem natürlich die vielen
spektakulären Sonnenauf- und un-
tergänge, die Wolkenkonstellationen und
die unzähligen Sternschnuppen.
Düsseldorf. I’m currently working on set
designs for a play, which premiered on
10 May at the Theater am Dom in
Cologne. It’s called
The Man Who
Didn’t Dare
with Markus Majowski in
the lead role. They’ll be staging daily
performances until the end of July.
Designing stage sets is quite challenging
because it’s technically very restrictive.
I’ve had to design 12 different sets that
can be switched with just a few simple
changes. I’ll start working on my next
projects in autumn.
You seem to have made your hobbies
into your job.
Absolutely. As I said, I love flying and
working with people. I’m also passionate
about architecture, art and theatre. I’ve
managed to turn my favourite hobbies into
my professions.
Are there parallels between the two
areas of work?
There are definitely parallels – depending
on the situation. Both allow a lot of
creativity and to a certain extent, demand
it. That applies to my work aboard an
aircraft and my freelance work on the
ground. Both jobs also bring me into
contact with interesting people from all
walks of life.
Germanwings flights have hosted
some unusual events, but as yet, no
plays. What play would you most like
to see performed aboard a German-
wings plane?
A comedy from the 60s, called
Boeing!
Boeing!
It’s about an American journalist
who works as a foreign correspondent
in Paris and is engaged to three air
stewardesses at the same time. He
arranges his love life around the three
airline’s different flight schedules. That
would definitely be an entertaining thing to
stage on one of our modern Airbuses.
This year, Germanwings celebrates its
10th anniversary. Are there any
memories or events from your time
with Germanwings that have stayed
with you?
In addition to the countless positive,
interesting, exciting conversations
and experiences I’ve had with our
passengers, I’ve got good memories of
Germanwings’ consistent development
over the years. I’ve also got some great
memories of spectacular sunrises and
sunsets, cloud formations and, of course,
lots of shooting stars.
jekte stehen dann erst wieder ab Herbst
2012 auf dem Terminplan.
Haben Sie Ihre Hobbies zum Beruf
gemacht?
Ja, das habe ich. Ich fliege gern und der
Umgang mit Menschen bereitet mir eben-
so viel Freude. Kombiniert mit meiner
Leidenschaft für Architektur, Kunst und
Theater konnte ich genau mit dieser Kon-
stellation meine größten Hobbies zu
meinen Berufen machen.
Gibt es Parallelen in Ihren Berufen?
Situationsbedingt gibt es auf jeden Fall
Parallelen, da man sehr kreativ sein kann
und zum Teil auch sein muss – im
Flugzeug genauso wie bei meinen freien
Tätigkeiten am Boden. Eine weitere Pa-
rallele ist natürlich noch die Begegnung
mit den unterschiedlichsten, interes-
santen Menschen.
Bei Germanwings gab es schon ein
paar außergewöhnliche Aktionen an
Bord, jedoch bislang noch kein Thea-
terstück. Welches Stück würden Sie
gern mal auf einem Flug sehen?
Da fällt mir spontan eine Komödie aus
den sechziger Jahren ein: „Boeing! Boe-
ing!“. Sie handelt von einem US-amerika-
nischen Journalisten, der als Auslands-
korrespondent in Paris arbeitet und mit
drei Stewardessen gleichzeitig verlobt
ist. Er plant sein Liebesleben nach dem
Flugplan der drei Fluggesellschaften.
Sicher ein unterhaltsames Projekt auf
unseren modernen Airbussen.
Germanwings feiert in diesem Jahr
10-jähriges Jubiläum. Welche posi-
tiven Erinnerungen und Ereignisse
sind Ihnen besonders im Gedächtnis
geblieben?
Neben unzähligen positiven, interes-
santen, spannenden Gesprächen und
Situationen mit unseren Passagieren ist
mir über die ganzen Jahre hindurch die
konsequente Weiterentwicklung der Ger-
WAITING IN
THE WINGS
Tom Grasshof, 35, has been working
as an air steward for Germanwings since
2004. He’s been chief steward since
2007, and is currently completing a
course in cabin training. In addition to his
work for Germanwings, Grasshof also
works as a freelance set designer and
interior designer.
You’re Chief Steward at
Germanwings. What made you
choose this line of work?
I partly funded my studies with
stewarding work and that’s how I
developed my passion for flying and
working with people. I also like the fact
that the job exposes me to different
countries and cultures. I’ve had a lot
of experiences over the years and I like
passing on what I’ve learnt to colleagues.
That’s how I became a purser – a chief
steward in lay terms. I’m currently
qualifying as a cabin trainer.
You also studied architecture and you
work as a set designer. What does a
typical working week involve? Do you
often find yourself going directly from
the airport to the theatre?
I plan my theatre design work around
the rota issued by Germanwings. The
theatres close for the summer, and
airline schedules are very busy around
that time, so it’s easy to make things
work. In winter, it’s the other way
around. The two jobs don’t overlap, so
I’ve never gone straight from the airport
to the theatre. The big benefit of doing
shift work on flights is that it lets me
take days off during the week to focus
on other projects.
What are you currently working on,
alongside your work as a purser?
I recently redesigned a restaurant
in Cologne and made the sets for a
production at the Theater an der Kö in
Eine kleine Skizze des Prototyps
“Ai!”, dass als Vorlage für ein
Kinderbuch dient
Grasshof’s drawing for a
children’s book
« Ich fliege gern und der Umgang
mit Menschen bereitet mir ebenso
viel Freude »
GW—
135