For Miami's burgeoning billionaire class, time spent in traffic is the ultimate luxury tax. A new service, ILandMiami, is capitalising on this by providing mobile, floating helipads in the city's waterways, allowing the ultra-wealthy to skip road gridlock via helicopter for approximately $1,000 per minute.
The company's Marine Utility Vehicles (MUVs) enable clients to land commercial helicopters just off the coast of their waterfront properties, reducing a journey that could take an hour by car to a five or six-minute flight. Founded in 2016, the service officially launched in January last year, coinciding with a significant influx of high-net-worth individuals to South Florida.
A Solution For "The Most Valuable Thing"
With Miami commuters spending an average of 93 hours in traffic in 2024, according to a Texas A&M Transportation Institute report, the service targets clients for whom time is paramount. "It's an expensive thing, but time is the most valuable thing to them," said real estate agent Angel Nicolas, who recently used the service for a client touring multi-million-pound homes.
ILandMiami CEO Adam Terris told *Business Insider* the idea stemmed from recognising the concentration of wealth and water-access properties in a traffic-choked city. "We had some billionaires calling us, and then the wheel started to turn," he said. The platforms, which require Coast Guard certification, host around 20 flights monthly, with 95% for private individuals.
Privacy and Practicality for a New Elite
The service offers privacy and convenience for high-profile newcomers, including tech billionaires who have purchased waterfront estates on exclusive islands like Indian Creek. "They want to come and go without everybody knowing they're here," stated Nancy Batchelor, a luxury real estate agent at Compass. While Terris cited non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) and declined to name specific clients, he confirmed they include individuals with significant name recognition.
A single landing on the platform costs between $4,000 and $4,500, with the process from touchdown to disembarkation onto a connecting boat taking three to four minutes. The service is primarily referral-based, as marketing directly to billionaires is difficult. "You can't reach out to billionaires," Terris admitted.
Future Expansion and Flying Taxis
Looking ahead, ILandMiami sees further opportunity in Miami's evolving airspace. Last month, several companies received approval to test electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, or "flying taxis," in the city. Terris views any increase in aerial traffic as a potential boost for his business.
For now, the service remains a niche symbol of extreme wealth and a practical response to an intractable problem. As Batchelor noted of Miami's infrastructure, "I don't know if the city planners realized how popular Miami was going to be. And we're not known for our best drivers."