German airline Deutsche Lufthansa AG (LHA.XE) Thursday said it has started to adjust new aircraft orders to the sharp drop in demand for air travel, saying that it has negotiated new delivery dates for some of its orders.

Lufthansa has reached agreements on new dates for deliveries originally planned between 2010 and 2013, Chief Financial Officer Stephan Gemkow told reporters in at a press conference at the company's head office in Frankfurt.

Gemkow also said the company increased its fuel cost expectations for 2009 and 2010, reflecting the acquisitions of British Midland Airways, or bmi, and Austrian Airlines AG (AUA.VI).

For 2009, Lufthansa expects fuel costs to total around EUR3.7 billion, up from the EUR3.4 billion previously forecast.

In 2010, the company expects its fuel bill to total EUR4.5 billion, Gemkow said, adding that around 59% of its fuel costs for next year have been hedged.

Lufthansa paid EUR5.4 billion for jet fuel in 2008.

Company Web site: www.lufthansa-financials.com

-By Jan Hromadko, Dow Jones Newswires; +49 69 29 725 503; jan.hromadko@dowjones.com