Taiwan's leading carrier China Airlines said Friday it will buy six Boeing 777-300ER aircraft to boost its long-haul passenger fleet.

The announcement came three days after China Airlines said it would lease four Boeing 777-300ERs from US firm GE Capital Aviation Services, as part of an effort to replace ageing aircraft.

"The introduction of the Boeing 777-300ERs is another important milestone for us, enabling us to expand and upgrade our global operations," said China Airlines president Sun Huang-hsiang in a statement.

The carrier said it would start taking delivery of the ten planes from 2014 onwards, expecting them to ply routes to North America and Europe.

Local media put the list price of a Boeing 777-300ER plane at $345 million, but China Airlines declined to disclose the actual cost of the six planes.

The 777-300ERs will replace the airline's fuel-hungry Boeing 747-400s that are due to be taken out of service no later than 2015, company president Sun previously told the Economic Daily newspaper.

China Airlines posted a net profit of Tw$384 million ($13.24 million) in the nine months to September.