U.S.-based financial holding company JPMorgan Chase & Co has again assigned a rating of "buy' for H shares of Air China Ltd<601111><0752>, the nation's flagship carrier, sources reported.

JPMorgan said in a statement that Air China has achieved a better-than-expected performance for the third quarter of this year.

The Beijing-based carrier last week announced that it has returned to profit in the third quarter of this year thanks to fuel-hedging gains and the recovering domestic air travel market since the beginning of this year.

Its net profit in the third quarter totaled RMB 885.3 million, compared with a net loss of RMB 1.97 billion a year ago, the company said in a statement.

Air China reported a gain of RMB 2.02 billion from fuel hedging contracts during the period, it said.