Comtran Ltd. said its advanced jet nozzle for MD-80s was certified by EASA as meeting Chapter 4 noise requirements. "It is important for operators to note that this modification not only brings their MD-80 series aircraft into full Chapter 4/Stage 4 compliance but also that [it] can be accomplished in as little as four hours during thrust reverser overhaul," CEO Douglas Jaffe said.

Libyan Airlines ordered three firm CRJ900s plus two options, Bombardier announced. Firm aircraft are worth an estimated $108 million at list prices. "This purchase represents the launching of our fleet renewal program. The CRJ900 aircraft was selected because we believe it is the type of regional jet that can meet the requirement of domestic and regional routes in our network," Libyan Chairman Tarek Arebi said. The carrier currently serves 27 destinations.

Goodrich said Lufthansa is performing in-service evaluation of its laptop docking station electronic flight bags on an A340.

Boeing projected that 28,600 new commercial aircraft valued at $2.8 trillion will be required to meet demand through 2026, an increase of 1,400 aircraft over last year's forecast and 5,900 more than Airbus projected in its most recent guidance. According to Boeing's "Current Market Outlook" released yesterday, the new airplanes will make up 80% of the 36,400 commercial aircraft in service in 2026. Over the 20-year period, the manufacturer predicts 5% average annual growth in passenger traffic and 6.1% in cargo traffic.

Cape Air, which grounded its fleet of 49 Cessna 402s late Tuesday after discovering an engine problem, expects to have nearly half of the aircraft flying by the weekend. Five were back in service yesterday after necessary repairs were completed and it expects 12-15 to be in operation today. "We did pull the plug on everything," President Dan Wolf told ATWOnline.

Avionica won orders from Continental Airlines to outfit nine 737-800s with its new satLINK Iridium system. Avionica said the initial installations will provide an Iridium phone handset in the cockpit, which is expected to be augmented by a wireless cabin handset and integration with the aircraft's communications management unit.

China Southern Airlines has outlined its strategy to seize a greater share of the international cargo market. It will begin by converting six A330 passenger aircraft into freighters over the next two years in addition to taking delivery of six 777Fs in 2008-10. It intends to add to its domestic network but will commit most of the increased capacity to international routes.

Rolls-Royce said it shipped the first pair of Trent 1000 engines for installation on the 787. A total of nine development engines are involved in ground running, with a further 10 scheduled to support the flight test phase. Production engines are due to begin delivering to Boeing in the first quarter of next year.