BA's latest inflight movie: a seven-hour train ride in Norway

British Airways' latest inflight movie isn't some Hollywood blockbuster or the boxed set of Downton Abbey season four. Instead, travellers will tune in to footage of a seven-hour train journey through Norway.

Doesn't exactly sound like gripping viewing? That's the whole idea. The scenic ride – shot in real time, from the front of a train travelling from Bergen to Oslo – is meant to help travellers relax through a more grounded and picturesque travel experience which BA calls 'Slow TV'.

Feel free to check your calendar to assure yourself that today is not April 1st.

BA expects the marathon movie, aptly titled The Seven Hour Train Journey to Oslo, will have a similar appeal to the moving maps which it says some passengers watch for "endless hours."

"It fits perfectly with the wallpaper-style footage people find mesmerising,” explains British Airways' on-board entertainment manager Richard D’Cruze.

"There’s a hypnotic, calming and entertaining quality to Slow TV that is perfect for in-flight entertainment."

The Seven Hour Train Journey to Oslo turned out to be a surprise hit when first screened on Norwegian television network NRK, with an estimated one million viewers – representing one in five of the country's entire population – tuning in at some stage of the broadcast.

Keen to see what all the fuss is about? Sample the video below, which at almost four hours shows the first half of the 500km journey along Europe's highest mainline railway.

But BA doesn't intend to stop at leisurely train rides, promising that future instalments of Slow TV could include "knitting, a walk in the park, and everyone's favourite - bird feeding."

PS We once again assure you, this is not April Fool's Day.

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David Flynn

David Flynn is the Editor-in-Chief of Executive Traveller and a bit of a travel tragic with a weakness for good coffee, shopping and lychee martinis.