A model of C919 passenger aircraft. [File Photo]

The China Aircraft Leasing Company Limited (CALC) inked a deal to buy 20 home-made C919 passenger jetliners, the plane's manufacturer COMAC said on its official website Thursday evening.

This agreement, signed in Hong Kong, brought the total orders of C919s to 215 and displayed "the market and customer's confidence" to the airplane, according to Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC)'s statement.

CALC is the tenth customer to buy the 150-seat narrow-body C919, China's first domestically-developed large passenger aircraft for mass production.

Major domestic carriers such as Air China, China Southern Airlines, China Eastern Airlines and Hainan Airlines are all customers to buy the C919.

The manufacturer said it has completed a series of tests such as the structural strength test and has finished the main technical work of the preliminary design.

The aircraft will be powered by CFM International's LEAP-X1C engines, making C919's direct operation cost (DOC) 10% lower than planes in the same category that are in service now.

The C919 is scheduled to make its first flight in 2014 and to be delivered in 2016.

The Hong Kong-based CALC was founded in 2006 and mainly focuses on aircraft-leasing services.