By Aditi Shah and Tim Hepher

DUBAI, June 21 (Reuters) - Chinese state-owned

planemaker COMAC has the opportunity to break Airbus and

Boeing's ( BA ) duopoly of the passenger jet market over the next

decade, the chief of aircraft leasing company Dubai Aerospace

Enterprise (DAE) told Reuters.

Airbus and Boeing ( BA ) are the main suppliers of

aircraft to airlines, but the European planemaker is struggling

to boost production amid record orders and Boeing ( BA ) is under

scrutiny from regulators after a mid-air panel blowout on a new

plane in January.

The narrow-body C919 jet, which is manufactured by the

Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC) and is pitted

against Airbus' A320 and Boeing's ( BA ) 737 MAX, is a "perfectly fine

aircraft", Firoz Tarapore said in a recent interview.

"Over the next decade COMAC has a unique opportunity to

break this duopoly into a triopoly because on the one hand

Airbus is sold out, and Boeing ( BA ) is having production problems,"

he said in Dubai this month.

COMAC's planes fly almost exclusively within China and with

one Indonesian airline. The planemaker is pursuing certification

with Europe's aviation regulator for its C919 jet while also

looking for international customers.

Aviation industry sources, however, caution that COMAC is a

long way from making inroads internationally, especially without

benchmark certifications from the United States or European

Union, or more efficient planes.

Tarapore said that the demand for aircraft from China and

nearby countries is "extremely robust" and that COMAC has a "a

very good chance of making a solid inroad".

As global travel surged after the pandemic, airlines rushed

to order new planes. But problems in the aerospace supply chain

and aircraft maintenance industry, including labour shortages

and engine issues, have resulted in delivery delays of new jets

complicating airline growth plans and garnering COMAC attention.

Airbus has said production slots for its popular A320 family

of aircraft are sold out until the end of the decade.

Boeing ( BA ), on the other hand, is engulfed in a sprawling safety

crisis. It faces investigations by U.S. regulators, possible

prosecution over past actions and slumping production of its

strongest-selling jet, the 737 MAX.

Tarapore said he hopes Boeing ( BA ) will initiate structural and

cultural change that results in the "production of high-quality

aircraft at a rate that is in line with historical standards and

consistent with what Boeing ( BA ) needs to produce to stay relevant".

Problems at Boeing ( BA ) are slowing supplies for DAE, one of the

world's top 10 lessors, with a 500-strong fleet of owned,

managed or ordered aircraft. DAE has previously said it expects

to receive only around half the number of aircraft from Boeing ( BA )

this year than the planemaker had committed to deliver.

"In 30 years from now, I believe we will not be talking

about a duopoly, we will definitely be an industry where COMAC

plays a much more significant role," Tarapore said.