April 3 (Bloomberg) -- Delta Air Lines Inc., the world’s largest carrier, will save “tens of millions of dollars” by ceding 170 airport gates in its acquisition of Northwest Airlines, Chief Executive Officer Richard Anderson said.

Delta has installed its logos at 117 of the 249 airport locations that need new signs, Anderson said yesterday in his weekly recorded message to employees. Northwest’s hubs in Minneapolis, Detroit and Memphis, Tennessee, were among the airports that were rebranded.

The merger allows Atlanta-based Delta to surrender gates as the company gets rid of redundant facilities, Anderson has said. Delta set a target of $2 billion in expense cuts and new revenue from its all-stock purchase of Northwest in October.

The gate savings will be “in the tens of millions of dollars a year,” Anderson told employees. “We give up a very significant number of gates we don’t need across the system.”

To contact the reporter on this story: Mary Jane Credeur in Atlanta at mcredeur@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: April 3, 2009 08:46 EDT