AA Flight 1070 - Boston, MA

AA Flight 1070 - 4.7


A bit of a road trip got The Shit Critic thinking...How viable an option is the lavatory while flying the friendly skies? Is it just for #1 and those applying to join the mile high club? Or is it actually a place where the travelling Joe can sit on the John and relax. This American Airlines flight from Dallas to Boston was completely sold out and definitely should provide an answer to the questions above.


Location: This plane is an S80 which has three bathrooms. One is in the first class section and two are at the rear end of the plane. Unless you're in first class or in one of the rear rows, it might be a bit tough to get there. Lot of potential obstacles on airplanes in the aisles. That said, its a common location for airplanes.
Grade: 5 out of 10

Accessibility: Well, for the sake of this review, we're assuming you're past security and on the plane. Once on the plane, it's there for the taking, barring turbulence and the beverage cart.
Grade: 6 out of 10

Number of Stalls: Bit of a grey area here. If you're an economy class passenger there are 2 restrooms for 120 passengers, while the 16 first class passengers share one other restroom. Perhaps you could sneak up to the first class section, who knows. That said, not the best ratio and the overwhelming majority of patrons in the latrines will be tinkling.
Grade: 3 out of 10

Stall Quality: We're obviously talking about some of the smallest stalls known to man. There is a sink within reach of the tiny toilet. Obviously there isn't room for any sort of expansive bathroom here, just the bare essentials. The seat itself is very small, perhaps designed with kids in mind. The paper towels were pretty nice and there is also an air nozzle identical to the one you'll find above your seat on a plane.
Grade: 4 out of 10






Toiler Paper: The folks on American Airlines' Airplane Bowel Movement Committee (ABMC) though it would be best to provide some rough one ply TP. At least there were two rolls of it...
Grade: 3 out of 10

Cleanliness: This bathroom was pretty clean. Part of why this might be is that there is a bit of a stigma about using bathrooms on an airplane. People just don't like it. All in all, pretty decent here.
Grade: 7 out of 10

Scent: I'd guess that bathrooms on airplanes generally smell better than you'd imagine. I mean really, who shits on a plane anyway? So since that is less of a worry, there is potential for these bathrooms to smell pretty badly.
Grade: 5 out of 10

Flush: Airplane toilets have somewhat interesting flushes. When you first get to the toilet, there isn't water sitting in a bowl. Just more of a metallic bowl. When you flush, and you do so by pressing a button to the left of the toilet, the bottom of the toilet opens up and a rush of blue liquid comes and sweeps it all away. I'm sure the blue stuff is a sort of disinfectant or odor eating type of deal. Either way, give yourself a courtesy flush or you might stink up the joint in a jiffy.
Grade: 6 out of 10

Aesthetics: Well, you're on an airplane, so there isn't much in the way of decoration. The bathroom is noisy and has a tendency have a rhythmic vibration from the engines or some other feature of the airplane. Not an easy place to concentrate if that's what you're looking to do.
Grade: 3 out of 10


The Bottom Line: Take it from The Shit Critic, it wasn't all that bad of a place to get down to business. Certainly a small space and there is always the possibility of a wait especially on a longer flight. If you need to take a load off, I'd give it the green light. Perhaps a bit of an adventure, but better than squirming in seat 31 F for a few more hours.

Chili's - Boston, MA

Chili's - 3.5

Open since 1975, Chili's has over 1,000 restaurants in over 20 countries. While it's certainly not fine dining, it's certainly a step up from fast food. For some reason, they seem to be lumped in with Outback, Applebees and other restaurants which serve some sort of fried onion as an overpriced appetizer. I'm a sucker and order it anyway. This Chili's is located at Copley Place at 100 Huntington Avenue in Boston.


Location: Not the easiest to find. After walking through the entrance, head straight. At the end of that walkway, head left and then take a quick right. I'd say it's about 75-100 feet from the main entrance, though that could be overstating it. There were a few signs, just not that easy to see them either when I first made the trek.
Grade: 2 out of 10

Accessibility: Chili's has hostesses, so It's not a free walk right into the place. That said, I'm sure a little white lie will get you past them.
Grade: 4 out of 10

Number of Stalls: There are two stalls here and also two urinals, so whoever designed this bathroom had the right idea. You'll likely be able to grab a stall here and not worry about it having piss all over it. Well, in theory that's the case...
Grade: 8 out of 10

Stall Quality: The stalls themselves were ok. One was handicapped and the other a bit smaller. The stalls were pretty standard.
Grade: 5 out of 10





Toiler Paper: Their two ply was locked up in a nice case. So everything here was good to go. Someone must have really loved it. They seemed to throw it all over the place!
Grade: 6 out of 10

Cleanliness: This is one of the messiest bathrooms I've been to in a while. Simply put, it was gross. While restaurants do get busy, there is no reason for a bathroom to ever be as messy as it was on this night. Wow.
Grade: 0 out of 10

Scent: On top of not being particularly clean, this bathroom didn't smell great and did not have anything to combat the problem. C'mon Chili's! We expect more from you!
Grade: 3 out of 10

Flush: After seeing the pictures above, one might wonder if these toilet's were broken. I didn't venture to check as they seemed pretty out of commission.
Grade: 0 out of 10

Aesthetics: They had a bit of a southwestern Brown/Orange/Eggshell color theme. Kind of a nice touch, though I'd trade it all if I could have used their facilities.
Grade: 4 out of 10


The Bottom Line: If I were eating in this Chili's and had to use the facilities to #2, I'd excuse myself from my table and head into the mall and search for one there. There is actually a mall restroom within 50 feet of the entrance. Even if this blog were called Pissin' Around Town, I'd have trouble recommending it. A 3.5 is generous.