FARNBOROUGH, July 23 (Reuters) - A top Boeing ( BA )

supply chain executive said on Tuesday suppliers and airlines

had the right to be sceptical about company jet output

forecasts, following a recent decline in the planemaker's

production.

"It's a fair sentiment on the part of the supply base and

the airlines to say that we failed our commitments to them in

terms of the timeline," Ihssane Mounir, SVP global supply chain

and fabrication for Boeing ( BA ), told a discussion panel with other

executives at the Farnborough Airshow.

The U.S. planemaker, which has plans to increase output of

its strong-selling 737 MAX, has reduced production significantly

this year after coming under legal and regulatory scrutiny

following a Jan. 5 panel blowout on a near-new 737 MAX 9.

Supply chain snags and shortages of skilled labor are being

blamed more broadly at the air show for holding back aircraft

production at a time of soaring airline demand for planes.

Both Boeing ( BA ) and Airbus secured orders at the show despite

delivery delays.

"We're fighting for the same type of capacity as the

commercial side," added Matthew Miles, president, defense and

space for Honeywell Aerospace.

Planemakers also need to invest more time and money to train

new entrants to aerospace following mass retirements of more

experienced workers during the pandemic, executives said at a

McKinsey & Co panel on supply chains.

That is the case for Airbus, which has recruited

"bakers, butchers, people working in a very different business

area," said Delphine Bazaud, SVP head of industrial supply chain

and digital operations.

Boeing's ( BA ) slowdown in output to below a

regulatory-imposed cap of 38 jets a month is nevertheless giving

suppliers the chance to catch up on delays and allow the

planemaker to improve production quality.

"We have an opportunity with the slowdown to put the

fundamentals in place," Mounir said.