Meet the team
Our staff are our most valuable asset. The length of stay of an employee is a reflection of their satisfaction with Hawthorn Travel & Cruise.
We are also proud that some staff have used Hawthorn Travel & Cruise as a stepping stone to build a career for themselves. Past staff who have left the industry have frequently booked through us.
Our skill base sets are of a very high standard, so don’t be surprised if we pool our knowledge to create the best outcome for you.
Trevor Jones
Co-Founder & Managing Director
Trevor commenced his travel career in 1973 where he has worked he worked for Ansett Airlines before moving on to the wholesale and retail areas. He opened the office for a large Italian travel wholesale company – CIT in Melbourne – before opening Hawthorn Travel & Cruise in 1984.
The knowledge, accumulated since joining the travel industry as a 19 year old, allows Trevor to create experiences within an itinerary that are lifelong memories with Hawthorn Travel clients.
Trevor has represented the American Express, Victorian & Tasmanian franchise offices for ten consecutive years. During that time, he was appointed to a Worldwide Advisory Board for American Express in New York from 1994 -1998. His reputation with his industry peers was recognised when Trevor was inducted into the American Express “Hall of Fame” for services to the franchise network. In 2005, Trevor was elected to the Travelscene Board and subsequently continued on to the Travelscene Franchise Council.
In 2008, with two other colleagues, Trevor founded the “Magellan Travel Group” with the intention of bringing a much greater degree of integrity back to the travel industry. The incredible success of this group was based on the same principles that Trevor applies to Hawthorn Travel.
In recent times Trevor trains travel agents on more complex itineraries and also gives his time as a mentor to the industry.
His most recent venture is a true to life blog/website of travel stories and other very interesting topics. See www.yourboardingcardmrjones.com
Sonia Jones
Co-Founder & Director
Sonia’s passion is for France and its close neighbours. Having lived in France, Sonia speaks French fluently and knows the country intimately. Sonia has sought out those special places to go, stay and experience what is so good about France. Her recent campaign to bring luxury boutique barging to Australians has been highly successful. Along with her husband Trevor, she started Hawthorn Travel & Cruise in 1984. She now also owns & operates France Vacations & Barge Vacations.
Nadine Jones
Started travelling when she was 3 months old to Singapore & Thailand. Yes, she is from a travel family, so it’s in her DNA. Her love for the travel industry is matched with the passion to find suppliers who can give our clients the essence of their travel destination. Trained by the best from Qantas Holidays she understands the supply chain of the travel industry, the meaning of great staff and what it takes to make sure a company is viable. She has an adventurous spirit, just ask her about her trips to Sudan, Rwanda, Mozambique and Madagascar to name a few.
Tracey Fidone
As manager of Hawthorn Travel & Cruise, Tracey also heads up our ‘Corporate’ division. She is an outstanding technician with airfares and knows how to extract the best options for your travel $. She is an outstanding Administrator and has been part of the backbone of Hawthorn Travel & Cruise for over 20 years.
Heather Testro
A most sought after consultant, who is also a highly coveted Cruise Master. Heather commenced her travel career in 1979 and her client’s benefit from the vast amount of knowledge she has acquired. Her skills go far beyond cruising as is evident by the well-travelled repeat clientele that love to challenge her with exotic destinations.
Alycia Burke
Alycia is the latest consultant to join the Hawthorn Travel Team. She is enthusiastic and friendly and will take on any challenge put in her way.
Alycia travelled extensively through the UK and Europe in her 20’s before returning home where she commenced work with American Express as a retail travel agent. She worked her way up to a Management role before taking a break to raise her family.
She is very excited to return to the travel industry and has a passion to make your travel dreams come true.
Poul Nielsen
A ‘Great Dane’, Poul’s Danish heritage is put to good use as he runs our ‘Scandinavian Vacations’ program. His knowledge of all things Nordic is second to none. Poul also specialises in Russia & the Baltic States. Poul lived and managed the Thomas Cook office in Wellington, New Zealand for 11 years so he is naturally very handy for ‘Kiwi’ bookings as well.
Henry Antanaitis
If Henry is not servicing his clients then he is highly-likely to be advising the Lithuanian government, as he sits on a highly prestigious board in its capital Vilnius. With his background as Airport Manager in Melbourne he comes with a wealth of understanding of how the travel industry works. A more humble person you could not meet.
Barrie Jones
After a long and successful career as a secondary school Geography and History teacher with the Victorian Education Department, Barrie decided to make a career change to work in the travel industry in the year 2000. In the decade prior to making this change, Barrie organized a series of overseas study tours for Geography teachers in his role as Study Tours Co-ordinator for the Geography Teachers Association of Victoria. Since joining the travel industry in April 2000, Barrie has further developed his interest and expertise in group tours, by organizing and escorting tour groups to China, Vietnam, India, South America, Mexico, Cuba, Borneo, Vanuatu, Burma, Sri Lanka, Japan, Greenland and Iceland. During the past 20 years Barrie has also developed a keen interest in the cruise industry and in 2010 travelled to the USA to complete his Master Cruise Consultant Certificate.
