Oriens Aviation Appoints Narine Melkumjan as Tecnam Sales Manager for the Netherlands
Why It MattersStaffing a new national dealer territory with an instructor-pilot shows that piston-trainer sales to flight schools and private owners depend on local credibility and support as much as on the aircraft itself.
What happened
Oriens Aviation has appointed Narine Melkumjan as Sales Manager for the Dutch market. The announcement was dated October 22, 2026, from Breda, the Netherlands, and Capua, Italy. Oriens is the official Tecnam dealer for the British Isles and, since June 2026, the exclusive Tecnam dealer for the Netherlands. Melkumjan will be based at Breda International Airport and will act as the dedicated point of contact for flight schools, clubs and private pilots across the Netherlands who want to fly the Tecnam fleet.
The appointment is a step in building Oriens Aviation's dedicated Dutch subsidiary, announced in June. That subsidiary brings to the Netherlands the same full-service approach of sales, maintenance and ownership support that Oriens has offered Tecnam customers in the UK and Ireland since 2021. In the Netherlands, Oriens represents Tecnam's single- and twin-engine piston range for professional flight training and private ownership. The range includes the P2008JC NG, the P-Mentor IFR trainer and the twin-engine P2006T NG, along with the P2010 and Sport lines for private owners.
Melkumjan holds an EASA frozen ATPL with instrument and multi-engine ratings and a Flight Instructor (A) rating. She has logged more than 860 flight hours, over 470 of them as an instructor, training students in the Netherlands and Germany, including on the Tecnam P2008JC. She began flying on a Tecnam P2002 at Vliegschool Hilversum. In 2019 she became the first female pilot to win the Intermediate category at the Dutch Open National Aerobatic Championship. She holds a Bachelor's degree in International Business Administration from HAN University of Applied Sciences.
Melkumjan said she learned to fly on a Tecnam and has taught on Tecnam aircraft for years, and that Dutch flight schools and private pilots want modern, efficient aircraft backed by local support. Edwin Brenninkmeyer, CEO of Oriens Aviation, said she combines an instructor's understanding of flight-school needs with a commercial track record and roots in the Dutch aviation community. Walter Da Costa, Chief Sales Officer at Tecnam, said Dutch customers will have a knowledgeable partner from the first flight to delivery and beyond.
Oriens Aviation has been an authorised Tecnam centre since 2021, including for the twin-engined Tecnam P2012 series, and is the Pilatus PC-12 and PC-24 sales and service centre for the British Isles. In 2022 it became an Authorised Cirrus SR2X Service Centre in the UK. Based at London Biggin Hill Airport (EGKB), it offers maintenance, repair and overhaul, aircraft sales, aircraft management, AOC operations including charter, pilot training, ownership support and handling. It holds EASA Part 145, UK CAA 145 and FAA Repair Station approvals.
Industry impact & what to watch
Piston trainers and light aircraft for flight schools and private owners are sold on relationships and on proximity to support. A customer buying a trainer is committing to years of maintenance, parts supply and instructor-level feedback, so a dealer's local presence weighs heavily. Placing a working instructor with Tecnam time in the sales role is a way of answering the question schools ask first: whether the seller understands how the aircraft is used day to day.
The move also shows how an established UK and Ireland dealer extends its model into a neighbouring national market. Oriens is reusing a package it has run since 2021, combining sales, maintenance and ownership support, and pairing it with a locally rooted hire rather than managing the Netherlands from London. The Dutch subsidiary announced in June is now taking on staff, which is the concrete sign that the exclusive dealership is moving from agreement to operation.
The next milestones are the ones that show whether the structure is working: the first aircraft placed with Dutch flight schools or private owners, and the build-out of maintenance support at Breda International Airport, which is where Melkumjan is based. Delivery announcements naming Dutch customers would be the clearest evidence.
