Aer Lingus said it decided to withdraw from Oneworld

, six years after joining the alliance. The growth of direct, low-fare services since 2001 has cut the number of connecting passengers to and from partner carriers "by more than 50 percent," the Irish carrier said. Since nearly shutting down at the beginning of the decade, Aer Lingus has altered other sales, pricing, product and distribution strategies that conflict with alliance participation.