An email received by P&I, purporting to be from someone who was working on the promotion, claimed the flights were only meant to be given away with purchases of Samsung handsets but lack of demand meant the firm had 200,000 flights left, which it needed to clear quickly.
The message talked about the related website samsungfreeflights.co.uk, where visitors could sign for Samsung's Fun Club to receive a flight to one of 10 European cities and the option of buying a second for £75.
This site was genuine and featured a basic homepage that sold the giveaway in terms such as "no strings attached; you don't have to buy or own a Samsung product; all you have to do is register; simple two-minute registration".
The campaign ran until the end of last year, with flights to be taken by the end of September this year.
A statement issued by Samsung maintained it had always been the company's intention to give the flights away with its E800 handsets for a period of time, then pass the remainder to members of its Fun Club.
On the subject of how many flights Samsung had originally, the statement, issued in late December, said: "It's not our practice to reveal details, but we are very pleased with the take-up so far. To date, we have received 150,000 registrations for the flight offer."
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