I am waiting for anyone to tell me why davidjohnson6's brillant ideas will not work, apart from the lack of alternative flights on many routes.
If I'm booking an early morning flight out of LGW and getting a more expensive mid-day flight for less than £10 - fine - on the other hand are EZY really losing anything? EZY get a share of the insurance premium and are filling a seat that would be empty in any case. Unless thousands choose to take advantage I think they are on to a winner.
In my own particular case, STN-ALC, for most of the year, there is an early morning flight and a late afternoon and/or late night flight. Why turn up at the airport at 10:00 and then sit around for 6 hours in order to get a supposed bargain?
On routes with multiple departures, it may be possible to expoit the system, but for most pax I fear that there are insufficient flights to make this idea a goer.