PARIS, May 22 (Reuters) - U.S. planemaker Boeing ( BA )

has returned to a more "dynamic" production profile after years

of uncertainty surrounding setbacks to its 737 MAX passenger

jet, the head of engine maker and key Boeing ( BA ) supplier Safran

said on Thursday.

Production of the benchmark narrow-body jet stands at almost

38 a month, the ceiling imposed by U.S. regulators after the

blowout of a door plug on an Alaska Airlines aircraft last year,

Safran CEO Olivier Andries told an annual meeting.

Boeing Commercial Airplanes Vice President of Quality Doug

Ackerman told reporters on Tuesday the planemaker expects to

stabilize 737 MAX production at 38 airplanes a month over the

next couple of months.

Safran co-produces the world's most-sold jet engines

with GE Aerospace through their CFM International joint

venture. CFM's LEAP engines power all Boeing 737 MAX and compete

with Pratt & Whitney for airline contracts on the Airbus

A320neo.

Safran's upbeat tone on Boeing's ( BA ) progress towards restoring

jet production contrasts with a more cautious perspective from

one of the world's largest leasing firms earlier on Thursday.

Boeing ( BA ) and Airbus have made progress, but there is

"a way to go" to get a stable, predictable production cycle,

SMBC Aviation Capital CEO Peter Barrett said.

Safran's Andries told shareholders that demand for

aftermarket services for jet engines had risen in part due to

delays in production of new aircraft, caused by snags in

aerospace supply chains.

Airbus has said CFM is itself one of two suppliers slowing

down increases in its output in the first half of the year,

while CFM has said it is confident of accelerating in the second

quarter. The Airbus and Boeing ( BA ) versions of LEAP are different

sizes of engine with a broadly different set of parts.

Andries said Safran was meanwhile getting encouraging

results from CFM's wind-tunnel and other tests to demonstrate

technology for a successor to the LEAP engine called RISE,

designed to reduce fuel consumption and emissions by 20%.