- Performance Builds Credibility, Credibility Builds Business: Aravind Melligeri at Farnborough Airshow
- India Needed a Collective Aerospace Voice: Aravind Melligeri Backs AIA’s Global Push
- “This Industry Is Very Small”: Aravind Melligeri on Why Reputation Rules Aerospace
By Sangeeta Saxena
Farnborough. 26 July 2026. Aerospace may be a global industry worth hundreds of billions of dollars, but at its heart it remains a surprisingly small world. Customers become colleagues, colleagues move to OEMs, buyers change companies and reputations built over decades travel with them. For Aravind Melligeri, Chairman & CEO, Aequs, Inc., that makes credibility, performance and relationships every bit as important as manufacturing capability.
In an interaction with Aviation & Defence Universe (ADU) at Farnborough, Melligeri reflects on Aequs’ long association with the world’s premier aerospace shows, why credibility follows a supplier wherever its customers go, and how platforms such as the Aerospace India Association are helping give India’s growing aerospace ecosystem a stronger collective voice.
ADU. Aravind, we are meeting here at Farnborough. What brings Aequs to the Farnborough International Airshow?
Aravind Melligeri. This is our routine every two years—once at Le Bourget and once at Farnborough. We have been doing this for around 20 years. This is a great place to connect with customers within a very short period. We probably have 15 to 20 meetings a day.
ADU. So Farnborough is not simply about finding new customers. Is it equally about reconnecting with people and relationships built over the years?
Aravind Melligeri. Absolutely. You meet a lot of people from the past apart from customers. I met somebody here whom I had met 30 years ago, and we started talking again. It is all about building relationships.
ADU. Aerospace is a huge global industry, yet people often describe it as a relatively small and closely connected community. How important is reputation within that ecosystem?
Aravind Melligeri. This industry is very small. People move around, and they carry their impressions with them—about what they have done with you and whether you have been successful or not. It is very important to maintain your credibility and performance. That reputation propagates as people move because buyers remain buyers wherever they go.
ADU. Does that make an event like Farnborough as much about maintaining an existing network as developing new business?
Aravind Melligeri. Yes. Part of it is making sure your network remains active. It is also about reassuring your customers. At the same time, you have to hear them out. What are they looking for? What are their strategic priorities? That is what happens at a show like this.
ADU. How do you judge the mood of the global aerospace industry when you come to Farnborough?
Aravind Melligeri. I measure the pulse of the industry by looking at the crowd. When you are standing here, you realise there is a cohesiveness and everybody is together. You can see the vibrancy of the industry. You can see OEMs and companies here—BAE is here, Radia is here and there are others. I was telling the team that they should call companies such as MBDA and bring others in as well. The Aerospace India Association itself was conceptualised around three or four years ago. It is a wonderful initiative. We believed that India needed something like this.
ADU. Aequs has built its reputation in aerospace manufacturing over the years. How does that experience translate into the defence aerospace sector?
Aravind Melligeri. The fundamentals remain the same. Defence aerospace is an extremely demanding manufacturing environment where quality, precision, delivery discipline and credibility are critical. These are programmes that can continue for decades, so suppliers have to demonstrate consistent performance over a very long period. It is not enough to win a programme; you have to continue delivering to the standards expected by the customer. Long-term relationships and proven execution are therefore essential when you are working with aerospace and defence OEMs.
ADU. How important is it for Indian aerospace and defence companies to build a stronger collective presence in international markets?
Aravind Melligeri. I think India needs a strong and visible aerospace ecosystem internationally. Indian companies should not necessarily approach global aerospace and defence markets only as individual suppliers. There is an opportunity to present ourselves as part of a wider and increasingly interconnected 
Indian industrial ecosystem. That is also why initiatives such as the Aerospace India Association are important. Such platforms can bring Indian manufacturers together with global OEMs, create stronger networks and generate the relationships from which future aerospace and defence-industrial opportunities can emerge. A stronger collective presence ultimately helps showcase the depth of capability that exists in India.
ADU. Aequs has been participating regularly at major international airshows such as Farnborough and Le Bourget. How important are these shows for your export business?
Aravind Melligeri. They are extremely important. We have been following this cycle of Farnborough and Le Bourget for roughly two decades. One of the biggest advantages is that you can meet a very large number of customers within a very short period. At Farnborough, for instance, we can sometimes have 15 to 20 meetings in a single day. But these meetings are not only about immediate business. They allow us to listen to customers, understand what they are looking for strategically and keep our relationships active. People move between organisations, responsibilities change and priorities evolve. Being present regularly helps us remain connected with that international customer network.
ADU. In a highly competitive export market, is manufacturing capability alone enough to sustain business?
Aravind Melligeri. Capability is absolutely essential, but it is not the complete story. In aerospace, reputation itself becomes an asset. It is a relatively small industry. Buyers and decision-makers move from one company to another, and they carry their experience of working with suppliers with them. If you have performed well and maintained your credibility, that impression travels with them. Equally, poor performance will also be remembered.
For an Indian aerospace manufacturer looking at long-duration international programmes, therefore, maintaining credibility, performance and strong customer relationships is fundamental. Ultimately, your ability to consistently deliver is what helps sustain and expand your presence in the global aerospace export market. Aravind Melligeri’s Farnborough message is refreshingly simple in an industry increasingly dominated by conversations around technology, automation and manufacturing scale: never underestimate the value of reputation and relationships. For a company such as Aequs, Farnborough is not merely an exhibition held every two years. It is part of a decades-long cycle of meeting customers, listening to their changing priorities, renewing old relationships and building new ones.
And there is a larger India story running through the conversation. Melligeri’s enthusiasm for a stronger collective Indian presence reflects how far the country’s aerospace ecosystem has travelled. Indian companies are increasingly visible at the same table as international OEMs, suppliers and technology leaders. In an industry where programmes last decades and people carry their experiences from one company to another, performance builds credibility, credibility builds relationships and relationships ultimately build business.
As Told to Sangeeta Saxena
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