(Reuters) - U.S. planemaker Boeing ( BA ) is on track to be the biggest loser of 2024 in the Dow Jones Index, tumbling 32% as it bounced from one crisis to another. 

Rival Airbus rose more than 11% for the year, and the benchmark S&P 500 gained more than 23% during 2024. 

Boeing's ( BA ) shares opened the year at $257.50. However, a mid-air cabin panel blowout on Jan. 5 aboard a recently-delivered 737 MAX operated by Alaska Airlines triggered investigations and a temporary grounding of the popular single-aisle airplane. 

By the end of the month, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration, citing safety and quality concerns, capped 737 production at 38 airplanes a month and the company's share price hovered around $211. 

The FAA has not lifted the cap. Regardless, Boeing ( BA ) has struggled to produce close to its maximum-allowed 737 planes per month due to supply-chain problems, quality issues and a seven-week-long strike that temporarily shut down most of its commercial aircraft production, including the 737 program. 

Boeing ( BA ) also continued to post massive losses from its commercial, military and space programs throughout the year. In July, the company announced a $4.7-billion deal to buy money-losing supplier Spirit AeroSystems, which makes 737 fuselages. Spirit has been plagued by production quality problems as well. 

In August, aerospace veteran Kelly Ortberg joined Boeing ( BA ) as CEO, replacing Dave Calhoun. 

Ortberg's honeymoon period ended in early September, when about 33,000 production workers went on strike over a contract dispute that dragged into November, when the company's stock bottomed out at $137.07. During the strike, Ortberg announced plans to reduce Boeing's ( BA ) workforce by 10% and that the company expected to continue burning cash in 2025.

The promise to cut labor costs and the restart of 737 production in early December helped Boeing ( BA ) shares to partially recover to around $177 on Tuesday.