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This proceeding would be tantamount of appraising the assets on a theoretical, rather than on an actual value at which such assets could be sold. The assets to be evaluated in this proceeding include fixed assets which the owner might sell on the open market. The value to be assigned to such assets is not for the purpose of rate makingwhere the proper value is the book value remaining after the carrier has recovered costs in excess thereof through its operations. It is well established that aircraft have been depreciated sveral times over through disposal at current market prices far in excess of depreciated or residual values. A carrier owning such equipment has assets far more valuable than may be relfected in the net worth. To peg a sale on the book value would ignore the equity which the stockholders of a corporation owning such equipment have built up over a period of years through a conservative depreciation policy. 

The question of the proper method of appraising the value of assets involved in the sales has been before the Board of previous occasions. In the United-Western Acquisition Case, 12/ the Board stated, 

"In appraising the reasonableness of the purchase price as related to the public interest in the transaction now before us, one guide to judgement is the fair commercial price as established by the arm's-length bargaining of the parties. In our consideration of this question we must either accept the normal market standards for arriving at prices in business transactions, after taking adequate precaution against the abuse of these standards by reason of fraud, duress, or collusion."

12/ United-Western Acquisition Air Carrier Property (8CAB298),(1947)