Head for This Row Next Time You're Traveling With Your Family on Southwest — Here's Why

Flying with children can test the patience of even the most cool-tempered of travelers — but if you're flying Southwest Airlines, simply choosing the right seat may buy you a few more minutes of peace.

Thanks to mom and travel blogger, Katie Holden of Katie's Travel Tricks, we're now armed with precious info for boarding our next Southwest flight — book row 23.

Explaining in an Instagram post shared earlier this month, Holden explained why this particular row is ideal for families as its close to the restrooms and the first to receive drink service.

"If you don't think this matters, you don't have kids. Or maybe your kids are super relaxed," she wrote in the caption.

She also shared, due to her own experience, that you may have luck in coming across an open middle seat on a mostly full flight, because passengers "pick a middle seat at the front of the plane because they're resigned to a middle seat" or "go all the way in the back to hope they find an aisle or window."

With over 50,000 likes on her informative post, Southwest flight attendants actually reached out to her and provided additional clarification explaining that if you're on a Boeing 737-800 or MAX 8 aircraft, you'll want to be in row 23 for immediate drink service, but row 17 is the way to go on a Boeing 737-700 because there are fewer rows.

The U.S. Department of Transportation has recently called on airlines to stop charging families with children to sit together. Airlines who do not comply will be subject to "additional action consistent with its [the Department's] authorities."

Cailey Rizzo is a contributing writer for Travel + Leisure, currently based in Brooklyn. You can find her on Twitter, Instagram, or at caileyrizzo.com.