Bad-tempered call centre operators, dodgy airline food and cancelled flights are in the sights of Australia's first airline complaints watchdog.

New Airlines Customer Advocate Julia Lines has pledged to name and shame carriers that fail to respond to consumer complaints, predicting consumers would have a new tool to determine value and reliability for flights.

While customers will still be asked to try and resolve their complaints with airlines in the first instance, Australia's major carriers have agreed to fund the new position to consider disputes that are not satisfactorily resolved.

"The website went live on July 1. So it's all systems go," Ms Lines said.

"The issues we will be covering are things like flight delays, cancellations, refunds, problems with websites and in-flight services. Some passengers are clearly encountering turbulence when it comes to airline complaints.

"We will be reporting publicly on the complaints we receive. So consumers will have some information now that they don't currently have."

Transport Minister Anthony Albanese will today announce the appointment of Ms Lines, a former manager at the Health Complaints Commission, as the new Airlines Customer Advocate.

Ms Lines said the top complaints consumers were concerned about included flight delays, cancellations, telephone reservation services, fees and charges, baggage services and loyalty frequent flyer schemes.

And she warned airlines' communications with customers and in some cases airlines' staff's bad attitude was a big factor in disputes that proved difficult to resolve.

"The difficulty customers have in making the telephone reservations, perhaps attitude. Most complaints have a communication aspect to them. Sometimes a poor attitude can impact on the consumer," she said.

"I see the airline customer advocate as an ally for consumers when things go wrong. It's another option for travellers. They should raise their complaints with the airline at first instance and if they are dissatisfied with that process they need to let the airline know that.

"There needs to be two initial contacts with the airline. So they are getting two attempts to fix the problem."

Mr. Albanese said the creation of an independent complaints office meant that for the first time, airline customers would be provided with a real alternative.

"Flying is today five times more affordable than it was 20 years ago, thanks to greater competition, the rise of low-cost airlines and the availability of different types of fares, classes and service levels," he said.

"But cheap fares shouldn't mean cheap treatment. Passengers are entitled to be treated fairly and decently by airlines. And this means having their complaints dealt with properly and in a timely manner."