As you say "
in theory"....the worry some of the more clever grown ups have is that if the company wind "optimisation" up to 11
pilot A could see their trip being changed but pilot B not getting it, and ultimately neither of them being satisfied because the company have intervened and dumped different trips of
their choice on both pilots lines.
It's perhaps worth pointing out the current system already has a fairly good trip swapping mechanism, albeit the swap happens much later in the process, but is negotiated, agreed and actioned in the system directly by the pilot(s) involved. That said complex multiple swaps are tricky.
Sorry if I/we are perhaps drifting off the core intent of the thread, in defence I know the rostering system (and it's future) is of interest to some prospective joiners.