IIRC the main reason they struggled to find customers wasn't because of safety concerns, but because of Bombardier's financial uncertainty. The program's costs

IIRC the main reason they struggled to find customers wasn't because of safety concerns, but because of Bombardier's financial uncertainty. The program's costs far exceeded budget and the company was on the brink of bankruptcy. The final nail in the coffin was when Boeing convinced US regulators that Bombardier was dumping in order to enter that market segment. This resulted in a 300% duty, which indirectly forced them to sell to Airbus for $1.