4, 5. Airbus A340-300 | N207MD

In 1987, facing an aging long-haul fleet made up primarily of Boeing 747 and Lockheed L-1011-500 aircraft, MidAmerican faced a choice -- scaling up capacity or placing a gamble on new, unproven technology. MidAmerican, always aiming to be a game changer in the U.S. market, went with the second option, and in April of 1987, the airline placed an order for 16 Airbus A340-300 aircraft with options for 20 Airbus A330-300 aircraft. The U.S. airline industry was in shock over this decision, with most airlines opting for McDonnell Douglas' MD-11 aircraft, or maintaining their fleets, but MidAmerican was determined to continue ahead.

In 1994, the first Airbus A340-300 touched down in MidAmerican's fortress hub at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport. Onlookers gawked at the four-engined, single-decker aircraft, the only one of its kind. However, after test runs between Chicago and Seattle, it was a hit with passengers and entered service later that year on the Chicago-Osaka route.

The A340-300 fleet enjoyed a long, 15-year life at the airline, forming the backbone of MidAmerican's long-haul operations and inaugurating a number of important routes, such as the first non-stop service between the U.S. and China (Chicago-Beijing in 1996) and maintaining the first regular service to Vietnam since the end of the Vietnam War (Seattle-Hong Kong-Ho Chi Minh City). In the mid-2000s, amid rising fuel costs and an unfavorable operating environment, the fleet was retired in favor of Boeing 777 family aircraft, and the last Airbus A340-300 was retired in 2009.

N207MD was delivered to the airline in 1995 and was retired in 2009. The Airbus A340-300 fleet before retirement was configured with 34 World Business Class lie-flat seats and 257 Economy Class seats; the fleet was never configured with Economy Comfort seats.