I realize that many will interpret the first part of my title, "Goodbye LHR FL," as notice of the closing of yet another FL. Don't worry: that's not happening as far as I know. But I just entered the CX First Class lounge in Terminal 3 for the first time and I can assure you that I will not be returning to the FL as long as I can get in here.

I am flying LHR-HKG today on CX. As I checked in for my flight, the agent handed me an invitation for the lounge and asked if I knew where it was. I said that I knew where the AA lounge was, to which she responded, "forget about that!," and proceeded to direct me to the CX lounge. (After security, turn right and follow the signs to the "Gate 1 Lounge." Take the "lift" (the elevator to us Americans) to the second floor and follow the signs.

This place is not The Wing (CX's great lounge at HKG), but for those used to the FL, it's night and day. The CX lounge is brand new and very comfortable. I'm not sure that the square footage is greater in than in the FL lounge, but because it's one large room rather than sectioned like the FL lounge, it appears larger. (There also is a separate CX business class lounge with additional square footage.) The CX food selection is much better than the FL food selection: in addition to the ubiquitous sandwich selection that one finds in all LHR lounges, the CX lounge offers an Asian chicken and vegetable dish, assorted instant ramen noodle bowls, a small selection of cheeses (real cheeses, not the "mild" cheddar that AA often serves), assorted "biscuits" (cookies to us Americans), and chocolate cake (which I haven't tried yet, but I assure you I will). Also, there are five (yes, five) brand new computer workstations, one of which I am using to write this post.

The location of the CX lounge is not quite as convenient to the gate as the FL lounge, but it is more convenient to the duty free shops, and really is only five minutes (or less) further from the gate.

[Edited to add: I just walked over to the business class side of the lounge. It's about twice the size of the first class side, so combined, the CX lounge is much larger than the FL. The food selection on the business class side was similar, and there are eight additional computer workstations (13 total!). There also are showers available.]