Samsung Spain reminds everyone about the Note 7 by handing out free Note 8 devices on a plane

All said, Samsung has done a pretty good job putting the Note 7 behind it. After the phablet became one of the biggest consumer electronics disasters in recent memory, the company invited third-party safety groups to investigate, instituted a rigorous eight-point safety check for future phones and promised to do better at several subsequent press conferences.

When the Note 8 arrived early this year, consumers seemed to have moved on from whole debacle. By all accounts, the handset sold swiftly, with the company calling it its “most success” launch to date. So, naturally, one of the company’s international divisions would like to remind of the months-long headache with a bit of tongue in cheek promotion.

Samsung Spain kicked the week off by handing out 200 Note 8s to passengers aboard a flight between Spanish cities Madrid to A Coruña, Galicia. The phone was accompanied by text reading, “A year ago we asked you to turn it off, we welcome you today on board,” according to CNET’s translation.

This, naturally, is a reference to the fact that the Note 8’s predecessor was banned from flights all over the world, a result of the annoying fact that the device’s battery kept blowing up. Perhaps something is lost in translation, but the sentiment appears to be a tongue-in-cheek reminder of a misfire that Samsung almost certainly wants to forget. Salting its own wounds seems like an odd way to promote a new product, but Samsung Spain has wallpapered video of the event all over its social media.

The passengers in the video appear to be a healthy mix of happy to get a get a free phone and annoyed at being woken from their nap.