This was a low blow not only for me, but also for many of my colleagues. It felt like the loss of a loved one, like the break-up of a relationship in its prime, of an organization that for many of us felt like family.

Starting a new chapter

The “Phoenix” project served to combine the remnants of Swissair and of what was then Swiss regional airline Crossair to establish the new “SWISS” airline. I would have been able to continue working for the new airline at the same level as before: I was Maître de Cabine, leading short-haul and long-haul cabin crews worldwide. Nevertheless, back then it felt to me like the right time to close one chapter and to start a new one. Looking back, this painful step turned out to be a stroke of luck for me. I wouldn’t be doing what I’m doing today and I wouldn’t be where I am now if Swissair had not got grounded.

Plans are changing

Life can only be understood in retrospect. It is only when we look back in time that we are able to recognize the connections and see what something was good for and why things have worked out this way. But we have to live life going forward, venturing into uncertainty. One might also say: The way forward is veiled by thick fog and only when we turn around do we see clearly. We can always only take the next step.

One step after another

Obviously I’m not advocating that you shouldn’t plan any more and simply take things as they come. Make plans when the time for planning is right. But then let go and take the next step. When walking through the fog with a headlamp, you will always see just the illuminated part of the path that is directly in front of you. And it’s the same in life: you only pay attention to the next part of the way that’s coming up. And you can only determine what is needed right now and not what will be needed in two years’ time. You can always only take the next step, trusting that you will later say: “That was the right thing to do, that was good, and I did it to the best of my abilities.”