China\'s flagship carrier Air China said Wednesday that its net profit dropped 16.46 percent year on year to 3.17 billion yuan (504 million U.S. dollars) in the third quarter over the economic slowdown and rising costs. The company\'s business revenues rose 2.15 percent to 28.75 billion yuan, Air China said in a statement filed to the Shanghai Stock Exchange. Earning per share stood at 0.26 yuan in July-September period, compared with 0.31 yuan in the same quarter of last year. For the first nine months, Air China\'s net profit slumped 46.13 percent year on year to 42.36 billion yuan, compared with a 74-percent decline in the first half of this year. Share price of Air China stood unchanged at 5.06 yuan in Shanghai and dipped 0.18 percent to 5.5 HK dollars in Hong Kong.