Dr O'Dwyer says the online response has been "so vitriolic" and has decided not to give any media interviews.

Dr O'Dwyer says the online response has been "so vitriolic" and has decided not to give any media interviews. Credit: Image - University of Exeter; Video - The AM Show

The AM Show host Duncan Garner has no sympathy for the Australian academic who complained about being called 'Miss' instead of 'Doctor' when boarding a flight.

"I did not spend 8 years at university to be called Miss," Dr Siobhan O'Dwyer said in a tweet last Friday that's set social media alight.

"What a precious little thing," said Garner, telling The AM Show on Friday the London-based academic is a "precious git" for making such a fuss about her title.

Co-host Mark Richardson went even further, saying the woman needs to get over herself, and that her academic achievements aren't that significant.

"I'm sorry, but eight years at university isn't that big an achievement. It's not that hard - you just learn to research stuff and then you're hired in the academic system rather than going out and making a real difference in the real world," he said.

Garner argued that eight years at university is a "reasonable effort," to which Richardson replied, "It's not that great an achievement."