Turkish Airlines has reported a net profit of US$874 million in 2008, nearly a fourfold increase over the $224 million reported in 2007, on the back of rising traffic.

The carrier also said it is in talks with both Airbus and Boeing regarding the purchase of 25 long-haul aircraft plus 10 options and 50 narrow body aircraft plus 20 options. Last month it placed an order for five 777-300ERs for delivery from October 2010 to February 2011.

Turkish Airline’s revenue for the year climbed 26 per cent to $4.72 billion as passenger numbers rose 15 per cent to 22.6 million.