diff --git a/library/Icinga/Data/SimpleQuery.php b/library/Icinga/Data/SimpleQuery.php
index 82b11d77d..3922dd167 100644
--- a/library/Icinga/Data/SimpleQuery.php
+++ b/library/Icinga/Data/SimpleQuery.php
@@ -309,5 +309,14 @@ abstract class SimpleQuery implements QueryInterface, Queryable
      *
      * @return  self
      */
-    abstract public function columns(array $columns);
+    public function columns(array $columns)
+    {
+        $this->columns = $columns;
+        return $this;
+    }
+
+    public function getColumns()
+    {
+        return $this->columns;
+    }
 }